Genre research Blog Activity

 Genre: Horror

Genre Conventions – Content

The major convention of horror films is to scare or disturb an audience. Typical content conventions are:

Themes: Of the unknown, death, or of the supernatural.

Character Types: Victims-usually teenagers or unsuspecting families, an antagonist-monsters, ghosts, or killers, and sometimes a "final girl" whoSurvives.

The popular tropes are haunted houses, demonic possession, psychological terror, and survival. Most horror movies depict deeper social issues within their narratives; common ones include racism, gender roles, and mental illness.

Genre Conventions – Production Techniques

Special production techniques are employed in creating effective horror films.

Light: Low-key light gives an ominous feeling; obscurity in details heightens the suspense.

Sound Design: The creepy soundtrack, sudden loud noise, and sinister silences make for an effective combination to build tension and instill fear.

Camera work: camera angles are unorthodox, shaky cams, and close-ups to disorient the audience and raise anxiety.

Editing allows for quick cuts and long takes that develop urgency or suspense, especially in the most critical moments.

Institutional Conventions – How the Genre is Sold

The fact is, horror movies use promotion policies that play with the audiences' most valued terrifying feeling:

Trailers normally contain high-octane scenes, jump scares, and other shocking visuals.

Posters: Ominous imagery or iconic figures from the movie are used, thus creating curiosity.

Social Networks: They satisfy their audience's needs with behind-the-scenes content, engaging in escape rooms, and creating viral marketing. Film Festivals: Most horror movies start turning up at genre-specific festivals, such as Sundance and FrightFest, building word-of-mouth with committed audiences.

Film Example #1: Get Out 2017 Get Out represents something of a breakthrough in psychological horror insofar as it essentially explores racial tension through that paradigm. Following Chris, a young Black man, as he visits his white girlfriend's family, the on-screen, slow-building suspense makes the unsettling atmosphere of this film an embodiment of genre conventions. Jordan Peele tightens up the camera and chills up the sound for tension-filled moments, mainly the pivotal ones where Chris realizes all the horrors around him. What really separates the film is the social commentary regarding racial relations in America, which makes this movie so relatable to the current audience that it was a critical phenomenon.

Film Sample #2: The Conjuring, 2013 The Conjuring is a supernatural thriller horror film based on the true story of paranormal investigation by Ed and Lorraine Warren. Conventional tropes of terror, like a haunted house and demon possession, keep the audience engaged throughout the movie. Don Burgess' cinematography is subdued and smartly framed, enticing a feeling of presage. The sound, too, is remarkably unsettle-a plethora of jolting loud noises and unnerving background tunes hike the tension at junctures. The success has surely been for a combination of scares, better-than-usual characterizations, and that clever marketing campaign selling it as a true story, drawing in both the core constituency of horror fans and outsiders.

Representation

 REPRESENTATION

Evaluation of the Representational Politics of Stranger Things: Use of Film Techniques and Character Building

The way Stranger Things exploits its circumstances deliberately knowing what it is going for is at the top-tier film-making level. This is illustrated by looking at two of the major characters, Eleven and Sheriff Hopper, in how different shot types - and techniques – and perspectives, contribute to their representation. 

In most instances, Eleven is shown in low-angle shots when her powers are in use. The reason is to encourage the notion of power. However, extreme close-ups and medium shots, in between long shots, expose her different side- the power side versus the emotionally drained side. This way of presenting adds more layers to the character since anybody can see how powerful yet fragile she can be at the same time.

On the other hand, Sheriff Hopper is shown in a lot of long shots to show how he is alone and how he is divided within himself. There are more two-shots in the film as the relationship between Sheriff and Eleven develops which are more visible to the viewers. Whip pans and fast zooms are frequently used in any action film which adds and maintains the suspense and excitement in the viewers.

Arts and Drama, as elements of Stranger Things, thanks to these moves, do great justice to the characters, horror and emotional transactions have been so well balanced to make the viewer want to watch again. Following is a clip with an action movie whip pan shot and a still picture of Eleven's downward elevation shot - such good attention to detail!

Low angle

 

amzaing editing and fast shots

good sound project

 Hello, my fellow humans, the other day in me Aice media class we did a project. The project was called the sound project, and we had to create Mutiple scenes that consisted of how just pure sound alone. The main goal was to make the viewer understanding what's happening on just the sound and no picture at all I had a partner, and we split the work into two. We performed some scenes about a fire drill, and we added a bunch of school clips such as the door closing, the backpack closing, the fire alarm, the children talking, and more to demonstrate the environment we were located in. On the other hand, the project was really fun, and I couldn't have done it without my partner, and we utilize the platform iMovie. Me and my partner brainstorm for about an hour and we created our outline which helped us allot because it was basically a step-by-step process what to do and we also didn't want to forget our ideas. So, the outlined helped us allot with those key things, on the other hand the brainstorming part was really fun, and me and my partner connect the dots pretty easily, since we had similar ideas and knew what we were going to do. For the next time, I would like to try to use iMovie a bit better though since it has a bit of restrictions so I would probably switch to adobe next which my teacher does have subscriptions that we can use.