Genre: What we picked

  So far we've researched the 3 genres of musicals, action, and thrillers. Three very contrasting genres of film, all having different effects on their audience. The musical genre being the more family-friendly genre. Appealing to a wider range of people. The thriller and action genre which have a few similar characteristics, attract viewers with their suspenseful plots. We decided to go with thriller genre. We feel like this genre's characteristics fit with the pitch of our film. This was probably the easiest part about this whole project. Genres enable the industry to divide up the range of films that can be made; the market is demarcated. Market research and the monitoring of audience trends inform the industry of what types of film are likely to do well at the box office; genres can therefore be targeted at the audience that exists for particular types of films. The Numbers has compiled a list of the U.S. market share for each genre from 1997 to 2017.  Adventure films released in movie theatres rank at the top for market share at 22.5%, followed by comedy at 21.49% and action at 18.25%. DreamWorks took an $87 million write-down on Rise of the Guardians… A few months later, it had to take a $57 million write-down on Mr. Peabody and Sherman, a film that cost $145 million to make and far more to market.” This was all a result due lack of marketing to the proper audience according to the genre. For a filmmaker, genre matters because it matches films to audiences. Some people will never willingly watch a documentary or a musical. Others will seek out sci-fi films like the future of the planet depends on it. By producing a film in a certain genre, filmmakers can appeal to a specific audience. The filmmaker’s side of the bargain is to meet the audience’s expectations. 

Genre Research: The movies

 

Thriller 

Common CAMS 

A thriller is a suspense film that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. Common camera angles and shots in thrillers are high angle shots, low angle shots, canted angles, wide shots, and panning shots.

Common Sound 

A lot of non-diegetic sounds are used in psychological thrillers such as: High pitched violins. High pitched string percussion. Lots of screaming, suspenseful sounds.     

     C.Common CLAMPS (Mis-en-scene)

Common Mis En Scene in thriller, entails pretty normal clothing as far as costumes goes. Lighting used in thriller movies are key lighting, under lighting, and filler light. 

The actors in thriller movies are people who have to portray a kind of dark persona and be able to show little emotions. Makeup is not commonly used in thriller.Weapons are the common props in fight scenes, which are commonly used to create tension. Settings always usually entail like dark allies and abandoned type buildings.

      

     D. Common Editing 

Titles, jump cuts, optical editing, shot reverse shots, graphic match, match on action, and parallel editing. 

     E. Example Movies 

F. What elements of the genre that you like? 

What I like about thriller is that it creates so much suspense and that they always seem to have a sense of plot twisting leaving me with the Wong guess of what was to come next. I also like that it is always upbeat and fast paced. 

     G. What elements of the genre do not appeal to you?

The element of the music actually, I do not really enjoy when music is constantly playing in the movie although sometimes it does contribute to the film. It is not always pleasant to me. 

Drama 

Common CAMS 

Establishing shot. This is used to introduce a setting, usually an exterior shot of the building where the action takes place.Wide angle, the lens is zoomed out all the way to see the widest view possible. Long shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up, two-shot, and over-the-shoulder.

Common sound 

Dialogue. The dialogue is the foremost of the three “ingredients” of a soundtrack, sound Effects, diegetic sound. 

Common CLAMPS 

Costumes in drama films include regular outfits, Cinematic lighting is a film lighting technique that goes beyond the standard three-point lighting setup to add drama, depth, and atmosphere to the story. Cinematic lighting utilizes lighting tricks like bouncing light, diffusing light, and adjusting color temperatures. The actors also in these movies create a great sense of emotion and connection to the other characters. Makeup is pretty moderate. Props used in these movies typically are fake houses not much figures. Some theatre sets are very elaborate and detailed. 

Horror 

Common CAMS 

Hand held camera shot. This is used very often in horror films to add a sense of reality. Low angles. Low angle shots are very powerful in the way they can emphasise just how scary or intimidating a villain is. Tilted angle, close up, tracking or panning shot, reverse, and birds eye/high angle.

Common sound

Non-diegetic sounds, high pitched string percussion. Lots of screaming, suspenseful sounds. Dialogue of course and no music soundtracks are really found in horrors. 

Common MIs-En-Scene (CLAMPS)

Costumes in a lot of horror movies use regular clothes but a lot of it may be bloody or an imitation of something else. Lighting is always dark, rarely is it bright and upbeat. Actors really have to tap into a different side I feel, to portray horror because its so dark and creepy and the elements are complex. Make up is huge, a lot of special effects makeup and just these non human like features are always prevalent. Props mostly include weapons like knives, etc. and settings seem to usually take place in abandoned houses, the woods, and sometimes even public places. 

Common editing 

Flashbacks, jump cuts, optical editing, shot reverse shots, graphic match, match on action, and parallel editing, and eye line match. 

Example of Films 

What elements of the genre that you like? 

I like that horror is actually scary and it really sends viewers to having nightmares sometimes. But I really do enjoy the sound tracks, the storylines, everything 

What elements of the genre do not appeal to you? 

Sometimes it actually can be a little bit too scary. The blood and sometimes the killing. 

Genres I Would Like to Research

A lot of people tend to say movies are their escape into a fantasy world. There are several different types of movies people like to see. In fact, almost everyone has a certain type of movie they like to watch that will make them happy in some way. Precisely because there have been so many movies made, many different genres of movies exist. However, there are three main categories that people automatically think of: action films, comedy, and love stories. There are also much more genres than the average ones. There is the Westerns, Gangster/Crime, Detective/Film Noir, Science Fiction, Fantasy. The ones that leave viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror, Suspense Thriller, Spy, Heist. These groups are usually used for marketing in stores where films are being sold. The majority of viewers, film critics, and film producers talk about films in relation to the categories.  The three film genre that I will be exploring is Thriller, Action, and Horror. One of the hardest parts about filming a movie is trying to determine which genre to place my film. I feel like picking a genre is one of the most important parts of filming. There are many benefits of Categorizing films by genre makes a movie easier to promote to its target audience .As most people have a particular preference for certain genres this makes it easier for them to distinguish what kind of films they would enjoy. By knowing the genre of a movie it gives the viewer a greater chance of what to expect and whilst watching the movie they unconsciously remembers similar plot lines from past films this give them greater appreciation of the plot and ending. For example I personally do not like watching horror movies so I do not go the movie theater looking to watch a movie that I do not like. Hopefully researching these genres will help solidify my genre

Pitch

  A woman, is leaving her job and is in a parking garage, it is dark and she can not find her keys. Someone who is very close and envious of her comes to kidnap her. 

New Partner

My partners from last year are either not taking A level Media or they have graduated already I thought it was going to be diffucult to find a partner because I did not know a single soul in my class. I was ready to Little did I know that this was going to be one of my favorite classes that I've taken. Having the chance to make an actual music video and my own original film opening was the most exciting part of my whole school year. The moment I found out I was able to further my learning I grabbed the opportunity. I can not wait and start a new project and who knows I just might end up major in something to do with film and media 

Welcome Back, Welcome Back

 Welcome back, welcome back to the late night blog show. This is actually really late at night so I think my introduction is pretty fitting. How much of my life has changed since last year? I am a senior- SENIORS! This is the most exciting thing in my life. I am finally a senior even though it really is unfortunate that I had to start my senior year online. I did not get to experience the senior setup days like the people before us or experience the first day of school stress of trying to find the perfect outfit. In my blog last year I told myself I was going to be successful in all the high stress classes I was taking. I stayed true to my word and passed all my classes and got a pretty good score on my SAT which I was pretty proud of myself. Now this school year is what I'm really worried about. Being online makes everything difficult. School really feels optional at this moment in time. However, I know that I can let procrastination overcome life especially since it is my senior year. During this COVID-19 quarantine I was able to binge several shows and read what felt like hundreds of new books. I also started leading a semi healthy life of eating sort of healthy and working out. Let's get to the reason why I took this class again. Last year when taking this class I simply took because I felt like it was going to be an easy class. Little did I know that this was going to be one of my favorite classes that I've taken. Having the chance to make an actual music video and my own original film opening was the most exciting part of my whole school year. The moment I found out I was able to further my learning I grabbed the opportunity. I can not wait and start a new project and who knows I just might end up major in something to do with film and media 

Audience and Institution Essay

To what extent is digital distribution vital to the media area you have studied?

Film consumption has changed dramatically in recent decades. Movie viewing has grown exponentially in domestic and mobile spheres, driven by increasingly flexible access to content and the diversity of screens this material can now be delivered to an individual's cellular device within minutes.  As of 2018, 54 percent of U.S.-based respondents stated that their favorite moving watching location was at home.Only around 13 percent of respondents stated that they preferred to watch movies in a theatre, while 22 percent stated that they like the theatre and home options equally. The digital distribution has become a vital part of the film industry. 

    An extensive viral marketing campaign was created in order to promote Ridley Scott's Prometheus, and the film became a massive success due to this contributing factor. Any major film studio is going to have a marketing campaign which includes some kind of online element, perhaps a trailer and a few film clips, but only few reach a major, viral victory, and Prometheus was amongst those that had, due to very generous investment from 20th Century Fox. Everything was distributed digitally to the public via the internet - on the 'Prometheus' website and the 'Prometheus' channel on YouTube - or through television (trailers shown during advert breaks), which allowed for a good number of people to become aware of the film and created a lot of hype surrounding it. The film had a budget of $130 million and with the help of digital technology the film was able to produce nearly $404.5 million in the box office.  In terms of consumption, Prometheus was released in over 15 markets during cinema exhibition, both in 2D and 3D, which was an experience that could not be topped by digital distribution, but was then sold to online distributors such as LOVEFiLM and Netflix, having been released on DVD and Blu-ray in over 50 countries prior to this, so as to reach an extremely wide audience.

    The franchise Fast and Furious has taken a similar approach to Prometheus in terms of using digital distribution to their advantage. The franchise used a website created for Furious 7 called www.furious7.com where there are contests, pictures, videos, information, and more. Their advertisement was distributed digitally to the public via the internet. The big exception to this is the sygenry Universal Studios used to promote the movie. Adding the Fast and Furious ride was another way that the company promoted the film. The company has been resisting releasing them with online distributors like Netflix and Hulu. While the film made $1.5 billion in the box office striking a deal with an online distributor could increase their revenue significantly.  

    The film Trolls World Tour made nearly $100 million in the past three weeks through digital sales, according to The Wall Street Journal, reportedly bringing in more revenue for Universal than the original Trolls’ entire domestic theatrical haul. Due to the pandemic the increase in digital sales may have just proved that using other means of distribution can be just as successful if not more than solely relying on theater releases. 

    Another film which relied heavily on digital distribution during the marketing stages was The Inbetweeners Movie, although this was not quite the case during the consumption of the film. The film became the third fastest-selling British home media release of 2011 after the two final Harry Potter instalments, after selling approximately 575,000 copies on the first day of its release. The film grossed just over a staggering $88 million dollars during the cinema exhibition, which was unbelievable since its budget had been only $4.375 million dollars. The Inbetweeners which was a tv series before a film gain so much revenue because people who have not considered watching the film if not for the tv series. They used trailers shown during tv breaks to keep the hype surrounding the film. 

    Overall, digital distribution affects the marketing and consumption of films quite significantly, as the internet is becoming increasingly popular as the years go on and a cinema experience is becoming less of a must due to the continuing development of technology.