Low lighting to create a dark effect and increase the scare factor
A sleeping teen as this is when the killing or ghosts are seen
An abandoned or deserted house or woods
Young and innocent teens are usually the main feature in the film
There are usually a lot of close ups, point of view shot and low angle shots which make the audience feel a part of the film as they will feel included in the suspense
A mysterious phone call, usually from the dead or a threatening comment
Involves running, usually away from the villain
A paranormal or supernatural theme usually runs through horrors as this is what people associate with horrors
This opening shows us that the genre of the film is a supernatural, however once into the film we discover that it is actually a romantic. At the start he seems to be looking around for what could be a love interest as we are shown that he is the main protagonist in this film. We know this is a supernatural film as his apperance immediatly give us the picture of pale skin, bloodshot eyes and his posture is hunched. People may think this is a horror as the known 'bonies' add the horror genre to this particular film. However, the narrator is the protagonist talking about his everyday life being a zombie. Also, he seems very relaxed about what he is saying, treating like this is a normal day.
Some camera shots include of an extreme close up of the protagonists face showing his facial expression, a medium shot to show his body language and his posture to gain a sense of what he is like. A close up to show his complete face letting the audience know that he is a zombie, an over the shoulder shot which shows the location of the film and where about's the protagonists lives which is in an airport. There is a high angle shot which allows the titles to be shown as well as the full setting of the film. Lastly, there is a long shot which allows the audience to see more of what is going on in the Mies En Scene. This is everything in the shot or frame allowing the audience to gain more information of where the film is set.
The music which compliments the start of the film as well and also plays at the same time is the voiceover of the protagonist is talking. During the beginning the protagonist asks a question directly towards the audience, making them feel included in the film. The non-diegetic sound very quiet, but yet relaxed, trying to set the scene, as if it’s another normal day. Also during the opening the music changes as the camera move around the protagonist, and changing the place to a Christmas theme song along with the location changes quickly. Then the camera moves around to show more people in the airport, then as the camera moves quickly toward the back of protagonist and the music changes completely as it goes back to normal, this shows that it’s trying to show a flashback to a happier time of his life.
All of these things mentioned effect the audience to make them feel part of the film and also that they will want to watch more. We know this because we have seen the opening monologue to the protagonist which will lead the audience into wanting to know more about his life.
Things that I want to gain out of doing media this year would be learning to use a video camera. I feel this would benefit me for the future. I would like to also like to achieve a good grade in this lesson as I feel this would benefit me for the future. Finally, I would like to gain knowledge in editing films as this would mean that I could do more film making in the future. I also feel that making films could be a hobby as I have always had an interest in doing so but never known how.
My favourite genre would have to be a musical and a romance
comedy. I really enjoy watching these as musicals have appealed to me for a
long time due to my childhood hobby of musical theatre. Romance comedy films
(Rom Com) are also my favourites because I find the story line of the films
usually are funny but also have a sense of romance in them. These have appealed
to me since becoming a teenager as I have been able to understand all the jokes
and context of the film.
I believe musicals appeal to a younger audience as they are
usually bright and colourful which makes them seem more children appealing. However
I think that some of the recent films which are musicals would be more forward
to the adults such as Les Miserables. This film has much more of a mature story
line which would means the age rating of the film would be higher. Also in a
musical you would expect to find a fight scene which happens between the 2 main
characters and also a snobby girl who thinks they are better than everyone
else. This may be in the way she dresses or in her posture.
In a Rom Com you would expect there to be a lot of funny
punch lines and also the theme of love with someone trying to get in the way.
An example of a Rom Com would be ‘just go with it’ as this has many funny lines
in it with the theme of love. I find that these attract a young adult audience due
to the comedy in these films. These films differ between the age ratings. These
can be from 12 to the point of 18.
In the opening two minutes of Les Miserables, it already proves that this is a musical. This is because the music is in the prologue and continues into the opening scene. This musical starts off as a negative feeling but soon improves later on in the film. This will engage the audience as they will feel they would want to watch more to see if the feeling of the film improves. They might also start to feel for the character which is what the film wants you to do.
In this particular clip, we are intorduced to the main charater who is in prison. Then a bit later on in the clip we see the second character who seems to have more power in this clip as he has more posture and also tells Val-Jean what to do. This would make the audience turn against him as they would feel they need to sympathise with the abused victim.
Frozen
Although this is a cartoon, it has a lot of similarities to Les Miserables, for example the opening shot is from under the ice and in Les Miserables it started from underwater with music playing in the background. Frozen fits more of the younger audience expectations of a musical as there are many bright colours and not too many things going on. As there is a young boy in this first clip of the film, it would make the audience want to watch more as they would feel they would want to see him grow up. This fits a musical genre more as the bright colours and music is intriguing. The music is catchy as well which would make the audience believe it is a musical. I think the main idea of a musical is to have the songs appealing to everyone and that they are for a wide audience. Frozen is mainly aimed at a younger audience however there are a few adults that like it too.
Comparison
Between Les Miserables and Frozen they both show what fits the catorgory of a musical. This is because they both have music playing from the very start. Frozen has more colours in it to completly fit the genre however Les Miserables is suited to an older audience so it contains more action and adventure so that you are still intreseted in the film.
My favourite film director would be Steven Spielberg as he brings history into films which have all become huge. One of my favourite films he has directed would have to be 'Warhorse' as he created the bond between Albert and Joey to be seen as quite extrodinary.
During his early career, Spielberg created many WW11 films which were all inspired by his fathers stories of war. Also, Spielberg directed many science-fiction and adventure films such as E.T and Jurassic Park. These both won awards for achieving the box office records. He was also offered the job of directing Jaws which became a huge hit. This is the first film that he was properly known for directing.
Soon after his break-through with Jaws, Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss worked on a film together called 'Close encounters of the third kind' which became a box office hit and won him several nominations in the Academy Awards including best film director. This showed that Spielberg was on the rise. After he gained his fame, Spielberg co-directed 'Star wars' and 'Indiana Jones'. Next was 'E.T the extra-terrestrial'. This went on to be the top grossing film of all time and was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including best director.
In his late career, Spielberg directed 'Warhorse' which was nominated for 6 Awards including best picture. He then went on to the film 'Lincoln' which was nominated for 12 Academy awards and won awards including best production design and best actor.
These are some pictures of Steven Spielberg. These were both taken in 2013 at film premiers.
