Title research: Hostage

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

There were about 29 titles in the introduction of the movie Hostage. The title of the movie (hostage) was in the middle of the titles rather than the end like I thought was a waste in suspense. The film has such a great title, and I feel it was wasted by putting it in the middle rather than the end. 

What images are prioritized in opening sequence? 

During the opening sequence, it was an animated showing of the city and how the city should appear in the movie. When the opening sequence ends it changes to a real actor screaming in a caged area.

What connotations do the images carry?

They show that struggle, distress, and ruggedness of the city. This lets the audience know what the rest of the movie is going to be like. This is important to draw in the targeted audience. 

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The genre of action is shown through the chaos of helicopters, guns, army men, etc. However, there is a slight showing of a thriller towards the end of the opening sequence, when they show a character screaming. 

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

It shows signs of war and distress, leaving the audience with suspense, wondering why the city looks this way. This leaves them intrigued and continuing to watch the movie. 

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

The film is appealing towards what can only be assumed to be the male audience. This is because the film shows everything that a boy is told they should like, hence why this film would try to target them. 

How has technology been used effectively?

Technology has been used through the use of editing animation. This leaves a lack of detail in the opening sequence, leaving the audience hanging with just enough information to have them intrigued. The last edit used at the end of the introduction really shows the transition from the intro to the core of the movie. This shows the audience a piece of what they will see throughout the rest of the movie.

Title research: The Notebook

In the movie, The Notebook, there were 10 titles in the opening sequence of it. During the opening sequence I noticed that the most common images used were characters that are going to be in the film; these images carried a sense about the movie, kind of like giving the basis of the film. For example, the characters appear as ink blots on paper to symbolize the film being about a notebook of someone, this reinforced some background as well as fits the theme of the movie being a literal notebook. The outset used in the opening sequence creates mystery about the film by introducing it with soft music as well as the way the background is. The background seems to be a page with light writing in it indicating it being a notebook of some sort, but it does not answer who's notebook or its significance. Some strategies used to ensure that the film appeals to the target audiences are the slower transitions as well as placement of the characters. In the opening sequence the titles are written in normal print to capture the viewer as it being a person handwriting the titles in. Also, the transitions in the film play a large factor as they are slow fade outs of characters as well as titles that are replaced slowly. The images that come in also captivate the viewer as they are ink dots of characters to show it's being written in or made by a pen. The slow fade outs of the film are what really tie it together as it will present that the film will be more relaxed and not as tense as other thrillers. This goes for the angles as well being that the camera is held steady as POV in the beginning to show hands on the side holding a notebook, once the camera zooms into the pages the camera is held steady to make it clear that the notebook pages are the main focus.

Title research: Split

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

There were 23 titles displayed in the opening sequence which included the starring actors, production company, casting agent, the editor, and more.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening sequence contained quick clips and images of the kidnapping situation that that takes place throughout the movie. The clips are scattered and quick as to not reveal too much about the film but still create a suspenseful introduction.

What connotations do the images carry?

The images create a feeling of suspense and fear through the fast unexpected cuts and the terrified expression on the young girls face. The images in the sequence also set the mood for the film by depicting a frightening kidnapping situation, which will clearly contain a lot of thrill and terror.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The genre is reinforced by through the symbolism of the frightening images. The images symbolize a situation that is supposed to seem intense and thrilling. These qualities match and reinforce the Thriller genre. Additionally, technical codes like the splitting of the screen into flashing boxes help portray the thriller genre as well.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The tiles and strange building briefly shown every few seconds establishes an enigma. It confuses but engages the reader as to what the images could mean and why they are significant. Additionally, the images of the girl also establish an an enigma since the audience would be confused as to why she is screaming.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

For this specific movie, I would say the target audience would be someone looking to enjoy an intense thriller, and could most likely endure violent or frightening scenes. So, the film appeals to this type of viewer by maintaining elements of the genre and insuring the film appears to be thrilling and frightening from the start. The title sequence conveys these moods by quickly cutting from the fast appearing titles to disturbing clips of the victim being kidnapped while also including intense but eerie music.

How has technology been used effectively? You want to consider camera angles, transitions, and editing techniques?

Technology has been used effectively through the use of color, and simple, but purposeful effects that align with the common elements of a Thriller. The use of color is seen by the absence of it, when I say this I mean how the film maintains a black and white color scheme that clearly depicts not only the seriousness of the film but also the intensity of a physiological thriller. Additionally, the effects used in the title sequence appear to be minimal but this only adds to the mood that is typing to be achieved. The effects are the flashing back from each title and the random but fast-moving appearances of phrases across the screen that almost indicate a theme of horror.

Watch the titles research

One of the websites that my group is using for title research is watchthetitles.com. This is a website that is used specifically for studying the art of title making. It has over 200 title sequences and interviews for researchers to choose from. Not only does it provide us with example opening sequences to show the titles, it also gives an explanation of why they were chosen. This website was launched in 2006. Making it the world's very first web page that is dedicated to title design.

The website opens up to a slideshow of potential films you can research. Underneath this, is a choice of interviews you can use as research. Once you get past the interviews, it brings you to the six different research categories. These categories consist of:feature film, TV shows, Event titles, student projects, video games, and French Fridays. At the top of the screen is where you can find the words "Title Sequence", clicking on this brings you to the many opening sequences that my group will be able to use for our title research. This website offers TV shows, student films, and movies of a variety of genres, making it the perfect website for my group to use. Some of the films that you can research on this website are the Pink Panther, The Dreamers, Splice, Sky Fighters, etc. After clicking on the film you choose, it will show you their open sequence, insider information, information about the film, and it will allow you to leave a comment. After researching this website my group feels more confident about of title research process. We will now pick a film(s) off this website and use them for our research.

Art of the Title research

Since we have started our final task, we began with finding our genre as well as researching it for our final task; now we began researching the titles of movies in our genre. After researching websites, we found the website artofthetitle.com. In this website, it has an overwhelming amount of movies as well as series, however, this website focuses on the titles of movies. For example, you are able to click on a movie such as "Venom" and see the opening 10 minutes to see the titles that pop up and pertain to that movie, the same thing with the final 10 minutes of the movie. For our purposes we will be focusing on the movies that have titles within the first 10 minutes as it is more relevant to our final task project. Also, we will be researching movies and movies only as our final task is the first 2 minutes to a movie. On the website you can search the designers as well as studios involved in the title sequence that would pertain to your movie for further research in your film. Finally, on the website you are able to directly search the movie you would like to see the opening or closing. This allows for a more direct search for specific kinds of movies that someone may have previously thought of.

Title research: Se7en

For this project my group and I researched the opening titles of movies. I chose to do the movie se7en which is the same genre we chose of thriller. During the opening sequence 27 titles are displayed. They included the directors, producers, actors, and etc. from the movie. Throughout the 2 minutes of the opening scene there are many images shown to represent what the movie will be about. It mostly incorporates slides that can be interpreted as setting up or hiding a murder. The images make the movie seem very mysterious and frightening as it does not show the face of anyone but includes hair, razor blades, and pictures of potential victims. The images carry a very threatening, sceretive connotation. As the images play out, it reveals more about the murders and persuades the audience to want to keep on watching.
Throughout the opening the theme of thriller is heavily carried out. The use of mysterious pictures, notebooks, and forensics helps to portray the thriller theme. As well as the pictures, the text titles help the genre to be carried out. The font and the effect of the glitch on the titles carry the theme even further as it makes the movie seem suspenseful and spooky. Enigma, which is an object or person that is mysterious, puzzling, or hard to understand is represented through the opening title sequence. The opening purposely includes objects that are interesting but confusing so that it leads the audience to keep watching. This was presented by crossing out a child's face and writing notes in a book. It doesn't fully show you the what he writes but you know it is important because of the continuous videos they show of it.
Strategies that I noticed are used to appeal to certain audiences are the ability to make the scene look very secretive and show that something horrible is about to happen. Technology has been used very effectively whether it pertains to the camera angels pr the editing techniques. By the images being all close ups it portrays that the movie is going to be a suspenseful movie because they won't tell you important details, like who the killer is which makes it very mysterious and appealing to the audience. The editing techniques depicted, also allow the audience to feel thrilled and scared by the transitions of the titles and the effects used, such as the glitch effect.

Taken thriller movie

Common CLAMPS-  Costumes used in Taken 2 are used to represent real people/groups in the world. For example, the antagonist group are dressed as regular men as well as the protagonist in Taken 2 because in thrillers you want it to be like real life. As for the lighting in the film, it was the same as real life as they used natural light in some scenes and lights for others. An example would be as the protagonist is captured the lighting is more dim and sinister to build on the suspense of him already being captured. The make up used in the movie is limited to show bruises, cuts and injuries of the protagonist's journey to find the mother/ ex-wife. Make up was used to the damages after a fight so mostly commonly bruises would be on the face and cute on the chest/arm. The props in Taken 2 were all used in a sense of violence as there were guns, knives, and other objects used in combat. The setting of Taken 2 is in Istanbul, Turkey as it is the main place for the vacation. The significance of this setting pertains to the story line of a group who originates from there.

Common CAMS

Angles-  The angles used in thriller are high angles/birds eye view, eye level, and a dutch angle. These are all used because they create a dramatic and suspenseful effect. In Taken 2, the most obvious camera angle was the dutch and high angles. For example, during most chasing scenes, the camera is at a higher angle to capture the full essence of one character being right behind the other one. Also during the more serious scenes of the film, the camera tilts toward a dutch angle to maintain the build up of suspense.

Movements- The most common camera movements used in thrillers are tracking shots, zoom shots, and pan or tilts. These are used to help develop the story and keep the viewer engaged and make the movie feel suspenseful. In Taken 2, the camera is often tracking the protagonist as he runs throughout the city looking for the mother who was kidnapped. Also, during Taken 2 zooming in was a large part of the film's technique of building up suspense. For example as the protagonist would talk on the phone with the antagonist, the camera zoomed into a close up which further developed the suspense in the film.

Shots- Common shots in thrillers usually are Point of View shots, close-up shots, and long shots. The reason being is that these shots develop a more intense scene. An example would be the close-ups used in Taken 2. Each time the protagonist goes on the phone with the antagonist, a close up is applied to strengthen the scenes intensity.

Common Sound- In thriller movies,  common sounds are sounds that can be either very loud and intense or purposeful specific sounds in order to draw in the audience. In Taken 2, I noticed that a majority of the film was accompanied by loud action music with upbeat noises. The diegetic sound used in Taken 2 were common noises such as a cars honking to represent the genre's theme of real life events. This completes the movies spot as a thriller film as it maintains the genre's high intensity events

Common editing- The editing in thrillers is usually fast, rapid changes from scene to scene. Examples of edits used are jump cuts, flashbacks, action changes. Any kind of edits that move the story along while maintaining suspense are used in thrillers. In Taken 2, an example of these edits are in the middle of the movie as the protagonist moves through a city and the angles and shots change rapidly due to the editing styles implemented.

Elements of Genre- The elements of Taken 2 closely fit with the Thriller Genre. Thriller Genre films usually contains victim falling prey to someone else's plan or scheme. Additionally, thrillers should be told from the point of view of the victim or protagonist. In taken two, the story is a sequel to a daughter being kidnapped by a foreign group and the father of the victim racing to find her. The description of the movie shows every common element in a thriller as it is shown from the protagonist's point of view. Also, thrillers are meant to cause extreme amounts of suspense and in Taken 2, viewers are overwhelmed with suspense as they wait for the story to play out.

What Elements do I like- The Elements of the thriller genre that I enjoy are how the story revolves around a person. For example in Taken 2 the story line revolves around the ex-wife/mother and her journey of being kidnapped. It keeps the story in line and organized as well as keep the viewer engaged throughout.

What Elements I dislike- One of the elements of thrillers that I personally dislike is that sometimes the suspense can be too much at times to the point where the viewer is puzzled a little bit. For example, in Taken 2, the beginning of the film is confusing as to who the white haired man is (the antagonist). This being because of the amount of suspense surrounding the character.

Limitless thriller movie

To continue research on our genre we chose, Thriller, I watched and took notes on the movie "Limitless".

1. Mis en Scene in "Limitless":

Costumes- Many suits are worn throughout the movie to dress the high profile characters, like the businessman in an early scene. Also, the main character often has scenes in worn-out clothes.

Lighting- For the most part the lighting in the movie is darker, but to show a transition from his nightly outings to the next morning there is brighter lighting.

Acting- The main character, Bradley Cooper, acts in a serious manner throughout most of the film, but also charming and cunning when he needs to. Overall, most characters are either serious or confident and clever.

Makeup- Besides everyday casual makeup, makeup was only seen in some violent scenes where fighting would occur and makeup was used to make realistic cuts and gashes of blood on characters.

Props- Many props were used throughout this movie. There was the computer the main character uses to write his novel, the magic drug he was later given, some guns in violent scenes, phones were also used throughout the entire movie as the main character spoke on the phone many times.

Setting- The movie takes place in New York City, however, some scenes like the car-chase scene was filmed in Purto Vallarta.

2. Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots

Angles- Low and High angles are used throughout the film, for example in the first scene as the main character is on the edge of a building the use a high angle to show how far he is from the ground and a low angle to show him standing tall. Also, eye-level shots and shoulder level shots are used throughout the movie when the main character is talking to another person.

Movements-A pan is used in the first scene again where he is standing on the roof to show all of his surroundings. Also, the zoom is used when the main character takes the "drug" and immediately feels all of its effects. Tracking is used as the main character feels very confident and he is walking down the streets of New York.

Shots- Many close-ups are used in serious conversations, where the viewer should listen closely to what they are saying. Also, many birds-eye view shots are used like in the car chase scene. Lastly, long shots are also used throughout the film to show entire rooms and characters within the room.

3. Common Sound in "Limitless":

All types of sound are used in this movie, with a focus on non-diegetic sounds to emphasize each little thing that happens in the scenes. For example, in the first scene when the main character is on the roof, traffic sounds and city noises are very present. Also, in the first scene, a voiceover is used as the main character explains he is about to tell us how he arrived in the situation shown. Additionally, Dialogue is one of the most important sounds in this movie and it can be found in almost every scene. For instance, in the very beginning when he has a conversation with an acquaintance about a mystery drug.

4. Common Editing- 

Since this is a complex film it included many editing techniques. For example, many jump cuts are used like in a scene where is he in a park on a bench and it cuts to a fast-moving work scene. Then, in the same scene, an eye-line match is used to show him reading numbers on a  computer and analyzing extremely fast. Also, in a later fighting scene, an action match is used to show him mimicking certain moves he had seen in a movie before.

5. Elements of Thrillers seen in the movie "Limitless":

Like a common Thriller movie, "Limitless" has a very engaging storyline especially since it starts off with a scene with the main character standing on top of a skyscraper. Also, in Thrillers, you often see the protagonist fall victim to someone else scheme or plot, and while in this movie there is no clear antagonist, it can be said that the magic drug he takes is the scheme he has been taken advantage by. Moreover, when it comes to the special effects in Thrillers, this movie follows typical effects of the genre by not including anything out of the ordinary like lasers or animation.

6. Elements of the genre "Limitless" had, that I liked: 

I always enjoy the engaging, on the edge of your seat, plot thrillers usually have, and this movie definitely had it. Also, I liked how this movie contained complex scenes that made you focused and not mindlessly watching. Lastly, the intensity of the movie like most Thrillers kept me engaged and always excited for the next scene

7. Elements of the genre "Limitless" had, that I did not like: 

Some things I did not enjoy about this movie, which many thrillers have is how it is unrealistic.  Many movies are enjoyable to watch because viewers can relate or almost think its real, however, in "Limitless" the plot of the movie seems surreal and very unlikely to happen. Also like many other thrillers, it is a very serious high-action movie so it is not suitable for casual viewing.

Bird box movie thriller

For our second movie my group mate Reese watched and analyzed the movie bird box.  Bird box

1. Common clamps: 

a. Costumes: Ragged, dirty, and distressed clothingand blindfolds. 

b. Lighting: Dark and dim lighting, creating suspense. 

c. Acting: The acting with the victims (sane characters) was always in fear, always ready for survival mode to kick in. While the insane characters were as happy as ever, and they wanted to share that happiness with the others.  

d. Makeup: The makeup and hair in this movie is used to make the characters look dirty and distressed.They also use makeup to apply blood, gashes, cuts, bruises, paler skin, gun shot wounds, etc. 

e. Props: The props used, resemble survival equipment. This is to help the characters play their parts as “potential survivors” of the end of the world. 

f. Setting: The setting changes from inside to outside. When the scene is outdoors it is more intense because the characters are at more of a risk. However, when the scene is indoors it is more suspenseful, in trying to determine what will happen next, or information, giving the audience a second to process what just happened. 

2. Common Cam: 

a. Angles:

b. Movements: A common camera movement was a tracking shot. This was used to keep up with the characters while they were running or trying to navigate while blindfolded. 

c. Shots: There were a lot of point of view shots, this let the audience experience what the characters were experiencing. Another shot that stood out was sort of a trunk shot it was from under the boat as the characters flipped it over. A shot that was used a lot during scenes on the river, were birds eye view shots. These shots showed the boat and the path they have taken along with the emptiness and loneliness around the characters. 

3. Common Sound:

a. A common type of sound was diegetic sound. This was the sound of the wind, bushes rustling, a character falling, the water rushing in the river. 

4. Common Editing:

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5. Elements of Thriller: 

a. The movie fell under this genre, because of its phycological standpoint. The movie is about the survival of facing these creatures that take your greatest fear and deepest sadness and make you commit suicide. They get inside your head and if you open your eyes outside then you can see them.  

b. The movie also used suspense by showing what the ending was and then flashing back and forth from the end to the beginning. 

c. This also creates excitement by allowing the audience to create an explanation for the ending before it is shown. 

6. Elements I liked:

a. I liked all of these elements because I think they truly made the movie a must watch. They have your feelings running from excited to sad to relieved to scared and back to sad.  

7. Elements I disliked: 

a. I did not dislike any of the elements in the movie, I actually feel that the movie did its job, in leaving the audience wanting more to the story. 

Get Out Thriller Movie

This weekend my group and I watched 4 thriller films individually to write our blogs on them.  I picked the movie, Get Out, to watch and write about. While watching I was looking for certain things including the camera angles, shots, and movements. As well as common costumes, makeup, and props. Lastly, I specifically looked for common sounds and editing techniques. The common costumes I found in a thriller film particularly "Get Out" were, regular clothes and masks. They did not have any extravagant costumes because most of the time the actors are pretending to be normal people, not anything special that they would have to wear costumes. Sometimes however, thrillers include scary and creepy masks that the 'stalkers' use. It creates a suspenseful and scared feeling. Lighting that thriller genres commonly use are dark and eery lighting. Most scenes in a thriller usually take place during the nighttime to make the audience anxious, thus creating the dark lighting. In thrillers there are certain acting techniques used to enhance the scenes. Regular acting in the genre include a lot of terrified expressions, for example screaming and crying. Makeup techniques are used as well in thrillers. There are two certain makeup looks that are the most common. These include simple/normal looking makeup and bloody/dirty styled makeup. Most of the time the 'victims' will be hurt from the antagonist so they will have cuts and dirt on them to enhance the actions of the antagonist.
Another thing I was searching for while watching, was props. I found that all the props had violence in common. A lot of the times they used knives, guns, and bats. Most of these props are used to harshly hurt or kill actors in the film. Lastly, there is common settings in thrillers. This usually includes an outside setting for example when the 'victim' is running from the bad guy. As well as inside a house. These settings mostly allow for the enhancement of suspense in the film. We were also asked to look for camera angles, shots, and movements. I recognized that there was a certain pattern when it came to camera shots. The most common shots used were wide shots, close up, point of view shot, and long shot. Most of these shots were used in the point of view of the protagonist/main character. The camera angels used were, low angels trunk shot. It allows the audience to feel what the actors are feeling and put the audience in their shoes. This makes for a better movie and allows for more sales.
Lastly, I observed particular camera movements. The important ones that I witnessed were tracking shot and pan shot. I found that a tracking shot was used very often to follow any character. For example, during the movie, there was a scene that I recognized as an important tracking shot. The character was on the phone while the kidnapper was following him in a car, however it used a tracking shot to follow the guy while being able to show the reactions on his face. This added a dramatic effect to the scene. Next, I looked for sounds. The movie included many sounds like diegetic sound, sound motif, dialogue, score, incidental music, and ambient sound. Much of this occurred when an intense scene was taking place. Then I searched for certain editing techniques. I found that cross cutting, cutaway, insert, and eye line match were the usual in a thriller. Throughout this assignment I learned a lot of things that I wouldn't have previously looked for if it wasn't for this. I noticed the specific techniques they used and realized the effect it had on helping to enhance certain parts of the film.

Genre part 2

We chose to research 2 genres for our project, the first one is Thriller, and the second one is Epic.

Thriller-

Camera Angles:

Common camera angles used in a thriller movie include high angles/birds eye view, eye level, and a dutch angle. These are all used because they create a dramatic and suspenseful effect.

Camera Movements:

Common camera movements used in thrillers include tracking shots, zoom shots, and pan or tilts. These are used to help develop the story and keep the viewer engaged and make the movie feel suspenseful.

Camera Shots:

Common Camera shots used in thrillers include Point of View shots, close-up shots, and long shots. These also help explain the story and depict the whole scene while also including shots like close ups to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.

Mis- En- Scene:

There are a wide range of costumes that can be used in a thriller depending on the story. It could be regular outfits or lab coats for a creepy doctor thriller. Next, the lighting in a thriller is typically darker and not so colorful to make the film feel more sinister and suspenseful. Actors in a thriller movie should be fully involved in the thriller and convince the viewers the events taking place in the film are almost real by maintaining the suspenseful tone and expression of the genre. Furthermore, makeup used in a thriller is normally minimal makeup to show the characters as regular people and to not distract the viewers from the intense plot. However, when appropriate like in a violent scene gory makeup is commonly used to show scratches and blood. Next, props that are used in thrillers are things like guns, knives, and other violent weapons. Also, sometimes in movies that are outside or about survival use things like ropes or tents. Lastly, common setting in a thriller can be many places, like outside in the woods, or a creepy doctor lab, and some thrillers even have the whole movie taking place in a secluded room.

Elements of a Thriller:

A thriller needs to have an engaging story line because the basis of a thriller movie is all about suspense. Also, and essential element of a thriller is a victim falling prey to someone else's plan or scheme. Additionally, thrillers should be told from the point of view of the victim or protagonist. Moreover, some thrillers don't use many special effects to make the plot and characters feel realistic, while some are the complete opposite and use many effects if they are more along the lines of a Sci-Fi thriller.

Examples of Film in this Genre:

Examples of Thrillers include movies like Bird Box which is about a family trying to survive in an apocalyptic world, and Limitless, a movie about a young man who is taken by foreign business men and given the potential to unlock full capacity of his brain.

Common Sounds:

Sounds that are used in thrillers can be either very loud and intense or purposeful specific sounds, depending on the movie. For example, a thriller that has a lot of action and fast moving plot will use a lot of nondigetic sounds to increase the intensity of the film, while thrillers like the TV series "You" use almost all digetic sounds and a lot of voice over that make the movie feel creepy and suspenseful rather than fast-moving.

Elements you like:

A thriller movie typically has a very engaging plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat which we like a lot. Also, thrillers often make you think and use your brain to understand the complex plot, unlike genres like comedies which you can just mindlessly watch and sometimes get boring.

Elements you don't like:

Sometimes in a thriller, the plot is either too confusing or unrealistic which can make it hard to watch. Also, if you get scared easily then a thriller is not the best to watch since it will leave you thinking about the creepy plot after wards.

Epic-

Camera Angles:

Common camera angles are high angles, birds eye view, and hip level angles. These help show what is going on in the epic and develop the story line.

Camera Movements:

Common Camera movements used in an epic film include Tracking shots, tilts, crane shot, and flash pan. These help the viewer see all the fast action of the epic

Camera Shots:

Common camera shots used in an epic film include wide shot, aerial shots, establishing shots, over the shoulder shots, and close ups. These help show all the action involved in an epic as well as the characters.

Mis- En- Scene:

Costumes in an Epic can range from avatar creatures with blue feathers to warrior costumes on a strange island. Epics typically have an "out-there" plot and setting so it could have very strange costumes. Next, the lighting in an epic is normally very bright and colorful like it is outdoors. Then, the acting in an epic is normally very serious and there is not too much casual conversation, typically, the characters should act very heroic. Additionally, the makeup in an epic is used when trying to create a creature like the blue in avatar, or sometimes in a violent scene but epics don't tend to get gory. Common props in an epic are guns, spears, and swords. Lastly, common settings in an Epic are outdoor locations, and areas with very specific natural terrains.

Elements of a Epic:

Epics typically focus on a heroic character. There is also normally a historical or mythical event that takes place. Additionally, there should be lavish setting and costumes, and elevated writing style. The story normally takes place during a societal crisis or time of war/conflict. 

Examples of Film in this Genre:

Common Sounds:

Epics include a wide range of sounds like ambient sound, voice-overs, digetic/nondigetic, and always a muscle score at some point throughout the film.

Elements you like:

It is often focused on a heroic character, so it makes the protagonist more likeable. Also, it its set in a time of crisis which makes the film more interesting and it helps appeal to a wide audience.

Elements you don't like:

Epic films are usually very long, taking over 2 hours to watch. They are one of the most expensive genres to produce, and sometimes not very exciting because of the complex and fantasy-like plot.

Genre research

As a group, we researched 3 specific genres we were interested in using. The first genre of epic, Reese and I researched for a prior activity. We didn’t think this fit our ideas very well because we only had one idea that wasn’t a horror film and it was more of an action. The second one was drama, which Lucy and James had researched for the project before. I thought the drama genre could be a potential option to use for our film but we thought of one more that might change our minds. This was the thriller genre. We all unanimously decided to pick thriller as our genre. This was because of our interest in the genre from our favorite movies to the enjoyment in the project. However, once we picked the idea of a scary film we had to choose between horror and thriller. At first, we did not know the difference between the two until we had researched the two genres. The horror genre was more gory and violent while thriller is psychological and sneaky. Since our idea had to do with a stalker we decided that the thriller genre better fit our idea.

Genre Research: Drama Powerpoint

  For this project, we got assigned a certain genre. As you can see from the pictures above, we were given the genre of drama. First we discussed certain elements of a drama like the camera angles and movements. From our research we typically see close up shots in this genre since they do a good job at creating a dramatic feeling. Additionally, we discussed certain elements of genre we like and dislike. For example, we said some aspects of dramas we like are how they teach lessons and are very engaging. On the other hand, we typically see many drama movies over exaggerate some things which make it feel unrealistic or hard to relate to. Overall, most dramas include normal shots and angles like close ups and medium shots, but they still are able to maintain a story line that intrigues the viewer. 

Was it all a dream?

Since last class, we have been debating our three main pitch ideas as to which one we will be doing for our final task. So far, we have decided that we will be using our first pitch idea as well as our last pitch idea as we try to narrow it down to the one we will be basing our final 2 minute entry to our original film.

    For our first pitch, it is a girl that wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to get water from her kitchen. On the way to the kitchen she hears some noises and realizes a few other strange things on the way to the kitchen such as the drapes moving. After getting water from the kitchen, she walks to close the window on the way back to her bedroom; as she closes the window, she turns around because of a noise and sees a man, dressed in all black, standing behind her. She drops the glass and is taken by the unknown man and put in the trunk. The next scene is her waking up in the trunk and struggling for sometime before her kidnapper opens the trunk, it goes black again and she awakes in a house. As she tries to escape the house while her kidnapper is away, she fails after getting to the chained door and behind her is the kidnapper who then hits her with something ending in a black screen.  We believe this idea would be good because it gives the perfect amount of background but at the same time give more suspense for the rest of the film because this is only the first two minutes of our original film

   Our second topic takes place in the woods. It opens with the a girl running through the woods, with extreme panic. After sometime of running, she trips and falls onto the ground where she is turned over and a man with a knife and he is about to stab her. Right before she is stabbed, the screen goes black and she is waken up from her sleep. As she believes it was all a dream, she notices something in the corner of her room that resembles something of the dream. Our group has not decide the specifics of what the item will be but we do know that there will be an object resembling the dream. As a group, we believe that this is also a great option as once again there is enough context and background to know how this story will develop as a whole movie rather than just a 2 minute film.

   As a group we decided to go with our third idea, the girl running in a dream. The reason being that we feel that this pitch in particular isn’t a full film in 2 minutes but rather a great introduction into a movie that we will be introducing.

Starting final task

  I’m back, as you know I am Montana and I am a sophomore. Since my last intro blog a few things have changed. First I turned 16 and got my license. As you know I’m taking the course AICE media studies. I’m am doing well in it as I have got A’s this year so far. I greatly improved my filming and editing skills from this class. Before this class, I was set on doing something medical for my further career. However, after taking this class I have become interested in movie directing or doing something in the film career. I enjoy filming and editing our projects however, I struggle on the planning portion because I always go straight into everything. For this project, which is our final task, I have four group members. We thought it would be important to have the most help as possible because this is the most important project. Our group includes Reese, which I worked with her for all my projects in this class. James, who worked with us on our music video is working with us again. We also have a new member named Lucy who we are friends with in the class but have never worked with before.
  As I previously said, this class has sparked my interest in the movie world. I used to vlog and make videos on YouTube so I kind of knew how to film and edit. Now after taking this class I learned new techniques to film and edit. Through the help of teachers and friends I learned how to use a camera, new features in iMovie, new camera angles, and the correct use of words that they use in the film atmosphere. I will use my skills of the camera angles to help make this movie better. I need to work on my story boarding skills but since I have 3 other people they will help me learn how to better plan my films. I am also excited to use my editing skills. After learning new ways and techniques of iMovie, I’m ecstatic to put them into action. Also another important thing I learned during this class is not to procrastinate, as a movie making class, the process takes a while. I learned this the hard way after having to cram to finish our music video the night before it was due.
  During our last two classes we had to think of 3 pitch ideas. A pitch is where a film is encapsulated in 25 words or less. For our first one, which was a kidnapping film, James greatly helped us think of our pitch. Our pitch was, maybe I should have stayed asleep that night and maybe thing would have been different. Our second pitch was an action film about officers who go into a job and his friend was taken by the bad guy in exchange for the flash drive. Our pitch idea which Lucy really helped with was, we both went in to save the victim, and only one of us came out. The last idea we thought of was a girl who dreamt about being killed but when she woke up it wasn’t just a dream. Our pitch idea which I had thought of was, was it really all a dream?