Audience and Institution Essay: Assess the importance of marketing in film

Marketing is one of the most important steps in film making. Yes, a film can be a masterpiece that is extremely well made. But if no one knows about the film, then no one will go watch it. Without marketing, filmmakers would not reach a wide audience of people and would not make much or any profit from the film. On the flip side, a decent or mediocre movie could make triple the profit that it should make if it had greatly executed marketing.

First of all, movies flop all the time due to bad marketing. “V for Vendetta” was a movie that suffered from its trailers. According to an article by the Taste of Cinema, “‘V for Vendetta’ was loved and hated by fans of the novel and eventually found an audience through home media, but the misleading trailers confused and disappointed a wide selection of cinema fans.” Another example is “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.” Its marketing was basically non-existent. With only small ads and a toy line, the film made less than half the money the original made.

Secondly, average movies can make a ton of money from ingenious marketing. “Jurassic World” is a film that became the third-largest grossing movie of all time dominating the box office and was nominated for a considerable number of awards. Even though the film has a Metacritic score of 59 and is widely considered not to be as good at its predecessors. It made this amount of money through its clever marketing. Superbowl ads, mobile games, an online treasure hunt, the list goes on with how many marketing strategies it employed to grab the world's attention and make known that it exists.

In conclusion, it goes to show how important marketing can be for a film. Great films fall to the bottom, making only scraps of money and barely breaking even. While other run-of-the-mill films reach record-breaking numbers and roll in cash. And it is all because of marketing.

Practice Extract Essay

In this extract, 24, I believe the director’s vision is to engage audiences in this with a heated interrogation scene. The director uses many filming and editing techniques to involve the audience in the situation. The use of camera movements and shots along with sound and set design really grab hold of the audience’s attention and does not let go.

The the entire scene involves the Detective walking into the interrogation room where the Suspect is already there, chained up and sitting. The use of an eye-line match shows the detective sees the camera and knows that people are watching them. The score is an ominous track setting the scene with uncertainty and caution. Over-the-shoulder shots are used almost like POV shots and shows the suspect looking directly at the Detective. Close-ups are widely used to display the expressions on each of the characters' faces. And the use of low lighting shrouds the characters in mystery, almost like someone putting a flashlight underneath their face to tell a scary campfire story. The dialogue starts a little later in the scene which reveals the motive of each character. The Suspect wishes to be taken to a separate place where someone there will tell them where the bomb is. The Detective wants to know who the someone is while the Suspect wants to keep that a secret. Zooms are used in conjunction with eye-line matches to show that a character notices something. For example, The Suspect looks at the clock before she starts talking because she notices she is running out of time. After the Detective throws the table across the room, it cuts to a reaction shot of Observers, worried about the instability of the situation. The score also plays into that worriedness of the Observers when it shows a close up of their faces. When the Detective finally loses his cool, the scene breaks up to a split-screen. One of the situation in the interrogation room and another of multiple shots of the observers running to the room to try and break up the situation. The score increases in volume and handheld shots are used to immerse the audience into the scene. When the Observer finally breaks up the commotion, the score settles down just like the Detective.

Overall, the director uses multiple methods to engage the audience into the scene. All of these elements are used to increase the intensity of the scene and grab the viewer's attention.

My Final Task CCR

        It took a while for me to make this CCR. The whole record yourself aspect of it frightened me and made my delay recording. But after I made my script and pushed the recording button, I finished it in a jiffy. Honestly, the hardest part of the CCR was the editing. We were told to make it creative and not just 12 minutes of ourselves talking into the camera. I decided to make it creative by doing the thing I know how to do best: editing. I included many stock image photos to try and relate to what I am currently saying in the footage. For example, I would be saying that my product will engage with teenagers, then show a stock image of teenagers. It was pretty hard for me to hit the minimum time limit of 12 minutes. I could not reach it with the base 4 questions. I had to add some questions of my own. I also put in some snippets of the actual title sequence. In the end, I barely made it to 12:01. I am not that much of an actor. I am very shy on camera. It took me about 5 tries for each filming segment. I stutter a lot so it was really hard. I also had a hard time looking at the camera. You can notice in the CCR I would look at the script or look at something in the room. My family would also walk in on me so I would be distracted and retake the whole segment. So yeah, this was the toughest assignment of AICE Media Studies.

My Final Task

              This is my Final Task of AICE Media Studies. I worked with new people for this last project. I still worked with Emily, the director/camerawoman for my last projects. The new people I am working with are Mariapaula and Darwin. Mariapaula was the love interest for the music video I recorded. She also was the one to let us use her house for that exact video. Darwin is someone that Mariapaula worked with for her own projects. With this group of people, I feel as though we could get stuff done. Everyone played a part in this project. No one was slacking. It was all hands on deck. Emily played the same role she did for the last projects: director/camerawoman. I assigned myself to the editor role. Mariapaula was the star actor/producer: since we used her house. And Darwin was the co-star. I used my previous knowledge of editing and fully went all out on this project. I used precisely timed transitions. I made sure each and every title was clear and to the point. I fully mastered the audio and customized it to please the audience. I fully cracked my knuckles and felt proud when I finally finished this project: My Final Task.

My Second Project: Music Video

        This was my second project for the class. I made a music video using the song "We Are Young" by fun. Here I felt as if my editing skills really improved. I learned a lot of new techniques. This time around there was not much editing. I played a minor character in the video so I did not really "act." My other groupmate Angelo was the main character of the video. A friend of ours, Mariapaula, let us use her house as a setting. She also agreed to play the love interest in the video. Emily was still camerawoman and was doing a fine job at it. This project was a bit more stressful than our previous project. We had some complications with Angelo. He couldn't show up on the first filming day because of personal reasons. I remember vividly Emily being enraged that day because of him. Thankfully we got all of our filming done the second day. I used some pretty neat editing tricks for this video. I slowed down some shots. I would also speed up other shots. I did this so the actions in the footage would be in sync with the rhythm of the song. It was pretty challenging. But in the end, it was a great learning experience.

My First Project: Commercial

          This assignment was a great learning experience. This involved filming an infomercial about vaping in school. Angelo was great at acting and Emily was getting the hang of the camera. At first, I was a bit nervous about my acting. I would stutter a lot and mess up my lines. I was not sure if Media Studies was the right class for me. But once I started to edit, I felt much more at home. It is then when I realized that I mainly belong behind the scenes for videos, not in front. I was able to manipulate the video just the way I wanted it. If I needed to change anything I could do it in an instant. I wouldn't have to rely on someone else to get the finished product. And since I am the one editing, I can be super critical without having to worry about hurting anyone's feelings. Once I started editing, everything I envisioned while my group was coming together. Each small detail that I wanted to add in was put in place. It worked out pretty well for my first project. The acting was a bit on the rough side. So to compensate the subpar acting, I tried to make it look and sound as cheesy as possible. I was the one who made the fake mustache for Darwin. I also included cheesy sound effects. I think getting the video down to 30 seconds was the hardest part of the process. We filmed a bit too much and the video was like a story. If we wanted to remove something, it would have made the later scenes make no sense.

Editing: Adding the Song and Messing with Sound

          It has been a long time since I last blogged. The whole pandemic put everything on hold for a while. Luckily I have the luxury of editing while at home. After I finished trimming the film, I needed to add the background song. We discussed what song we should use during our planning phase knowing that one would be required. We decided on a happy-go-lucky song awhile back. Darwin suggested it because it would contrast the eerie mood that would take place on screen. While I agreed with him back then, I'm on the fence about the song choice now. Although it does fit Carolina getting ready in the morning, Kenny does not do anything sinister so the contrast Darwin talked about is not really there. The song Mariapaula suggested was "Summertime"-by Egozi. It pretty relaxing and chill and fits the morning scenes just right. After I added the song in, I had to mess around with the sound. I wanted to make sure you can hear everything in the scenes I want you to hear. The song was really loud in the beginning, so I had to lower it quite a bit. I muted some scenes that I found the sounds unnecessary. Also, I lowered the song during scenes that contained dialogue so you can hear what the characters are saying. The red audio track contains the sound in the scenes. The teal audio track contains muted scene sounds. The purple audio track is the music. And finally, the small yellow audio piece it a slight sound that I wanted to keep in and make it louder than anything else in the scene.

Editing: Trimming and Changing Footage Speed

           I mentioned last blog that the video exceeded the time limit. In this blog, I will talk about how I addressed this issue. Also, I will talk about my thought process and methods I used to combat this issue. Forty seconds was a lot of time that needed to be chopped off. I remember back when I edited my commercial, time was a challenge. I had to cut off a lot back then. In the end, I didn't very much like the final product. Thankfully, that did not happen with this video. At first, I tackled the very long and drawn-out scenes. These included the clothes-throwing scene, tooth-brushing scene, and the establishing shots. I cut off the awkward pauses and irrelevant actions. I also made sure everything transitioned smoothly between each scene. If someone walked out of the frame for the last scene, the next scene should start with them walking in the frame. After I cut the problematic and a few scenes down, I had to do something else. I went and did the only other thing I could do: speed-up the footage. I sped up certain scenes that went by a little too slowly. Darwin's scenes were particularly slow. Not trying to be mean, but he was not the greatest of actors. Scenes that I sped up include: shower scene, tooth-brushing scene, and the closet scene. In the end, the footage turned out to be a minute and 57 seconds long. That is just under the time limit. 

Editing: Combining the Footage

           So after we finished filming all of our footage, it was time to edit. I have an editing software at home that I use to edit videos. I had previously used it for both my commercial and music-video. I thought that maybe since I was in a new group I would get a different job. But no, I still had the editor role. It is fine, I love editing. It is just that I wanted to maybe do something different for the Final Task. Well, it might have been better for me to stick to what I am good at. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Anyways, a few days after the last filming day, I stretched my fingers and got to work. I had Mariapaula send me the footage to me through Gmail. My laptop does not have an SD card reader. That means I cannot transfer the footage straight from the SD card to my editing software. So I asked Mariapaula to get the footage as files instead. After a few minutes of downloading the footage, I dumped it into my editing software. I then just placed the footage in order. I used the storyboard as my reference. I can get confused from time to time. However, when I finally combined all the footage, it was way over the time limit. The time limit is 1:50-2:00 minutes, but the ending result was 2:40. This footage definitely needs to be edited down.  

Filming: The Last Few Scenes

          After we finished filming the scenes that took place in Mariapaula's house, we went to go and film the final scenes. The final scenes of the video take place outside in a neighborhood street. Mariapaula took us to her neighbor's house. It was the one we used to film the establishing shot previously. We did not have much daylight left in the day, so we were on a timer. What we filmed first was a scene of Carolina on her phone waiting for her ride. A car then pulls up to her driveway and she walks towards it. Carolina then walks up to the car and asks the person who is driving their name. This is all one take and it took several attempts to get it right. I took some pictures for the blog of Emily getting ready to film said scenes. Emily, Mariapaula, and Darwin were all involved in the filming process. I did not play much of a role in the video itself. I was more like the camera's assistant. For example, I would signal Darwin, who is driving the car, to pull up because no one else could. Mariapaula would be busy acting in the scene. Emily needed to hold the camera steady. After those couple of scenes, we would then film a conversation between Carolina and Kenny. However, instead of filming one scene of one line said by the actor, we would have the actors say all of their lines in one take. Then afterward I can edit the lines to go in order and make sense. This was done to save time since the sun was barely up at this point.

Filming: Additional, Additional Filming

          After school on Friday, my group and I (along with Macy) carpooled with Mariapaula to her house to continue filming. Before heading directly to her house, we stopped by her neighbor's house. We used that house as Carolina's house in the video. But we filmed everything in the inside of Mariapaula's house. Two different rooms and bathrooms are used. So that makes the illusion of the characters getting ready in two separate homes. When in reality, the characters are about twenty feet apart. When we finally got to Mariapaula's house, we decided to change some things. The razor cutting scene in the original storyboard proved to difficult. Darwin had trouble being fast enough to shave. Also, a lot of his movements were awkward. We concluded that a tooth-brushing scene would be easier to film and less of a hassle film. I took a photo of Mariapaula and Darwin getting ready for the take which can be seen down below. Still, in the end, the scene came out a bit too slow and sluggish. It will be fine, I can just speed it up in editing later. We also filmed a scene of Darwin putting a few tools into the trunk of a car. The initial scene involved "Kenny" placing a rope in the trunk instead of tools. However, like many scenes involving Darwin, the movements were very languid. So we filmed the shot using tools instead of some rope. It still took a while to get the perfect take.

Peer Review: Captured

          Attached is my peer review of another group's final task. They gave our group what they currently have done for their final task and each of us gave our personal opinions. I really liked their final task. It, however, definitely needs some more work. They said that it was far from done and it is what they were able to put together the night before. One thing I really like about their video was their opening scene. It is a moving shot of the camera coming into a close up of books on a bookshelf. The books are removed and two boys peek through the hole where the book was. It is revealed that the boys are leering at a girl sitting down enjoying a book. It was a really dynamic shot and my favorite out of the video. However, the title of the movie, "Captured" does come up out of order during the scene. They will have to move the title or add some scenes beforehand in order to make it right. One suggestion I have towards the group is to try and avoid filming people who are not supposed to be in the film. During one of the car scenes, you can see a person in the back of the car. That person is most likely the cameraman and not one of the characters. There are other things, like lighting and sound that need fixing. During some scenes in the car, the sun outside the window is blindingly bright. And some dialogue scenes outside the car, wind can be heard. They can fix this while editing, and they can add voice over for the dialogue scenes. Overall, a great video! I can't wait to see the finished product!

Filming: Helping Hands

          My four-person group filmed alongside another, 1-person group: Macy. We were able to use her Nikon DSLR camera. The footage it takes looks really crisp. Way better than the school Sony cameras and my iPhone XR. After we filmed all of our footage, we went on to help Macy with her Final Task. I was an actor in Macy's Final Task known as Assistant #2. Assistant #2 is a side character. I was the assistant to one of the main characters. I show up in the film only once during the opening. My scene included me talking to one of the main characters. The shot was an over the shoulder shot. It then transitions into a close up of my face. My takes were pretty short. I got it down by the third time filming it. The dialogue was the one part messing me up. If we needed to, we could record voice over for the scene if Macy doesn't feel its adequate. We then filmed everyone else's scenes in Macy's Final Task. I can not really talk about them here. I did not help out with those scenes at all. All in all, we recorded around half of Macy's Final Task.

Filming: Additional Filming

          This is my experience for our second time filming. One scene we filmed was a trunk shot outside of Mariapaula's house. In it, Darwin/Kenny takes some tools out of the trunk of a car. He would then shut the trunk on the camera and it would cut to black. I was able to go in the backseat of the car and take a picture of Mariapaula and Darwin setting up the scene. In the picture, you can see Darwin holding cables on his arm. Emily wasn't able to get in the trunk through the backseat, so we decided to film it the way we filmed the closet scene. We would hit record and then place it in the trunk. We then hope the camera doesn't fall over when we close/open the trunk. Another scene we recorded was the dialogue scene. We recorded it just before the sunset. You could see how low the sun was in my picture of Emily recording the scene. It was the scene of the conversation between Carolina and her mother. Mariapaula's acting during the scene was solid, she would just forget her lines a bit. Also during one of the takes, Mariapaula accidentally closed her phone. So throughout that entire take, she was talking with her phone off. If need be, we could record a voice over for that one scene. We managed to record two-thirds of our final task. The footage we have so far is fine, but some need re-shooting. Put together, the footage was over 2 minutes. We will need to cut the footage down a whole lot.

Filming: Presidents' Day Filming!

            February 17th (Monday) was a day off of school. Our group took full advantage of that day off to start filming our final task. I carpooled with Emily to Mariapaula's house. We arrived around 1:20pm and Darwin was already there. We waited for twenty-minutes for Macy to arrive, then we started filming. The time was important because we want it to be sunny outside for all of the shots. It wouldn't make sense for someone to "get ready for the day" during the dead of night. I was not that involved in the filming portion of the final task. I was not an actor and Emily was the main camerawomen. I did, however, help out whenever I could. If my group needed me for anything, I was there right away. I especially helped with taking the pictures for the blog (seen below). I took pictures of the scenes from a different angle. The first scene we recorded involved Mariapaula throwing clothes on to her bed. Her dog Milo was also on the bed which was pretty cute. The scene took forever to record, however, due to that decision. While they were recording the scene, I took a "behind the scenes" picture of one of our takes. Afterward, the next scene I was involved with was Darwin's shaving scene. I took another "behind the scenes" picture of Mariapaula putting on the fake blood on the razor. In the picture, I captured Darwin standing there awkwardly with a small grin.

Planning: Storyboard

Attached to this blog is the storyboard of our final task. Each slide contains a sheet of what we will be filming. There are 10 pages for the storyboard template and each page has 6 boxes. The 6 boxes have specific drawings of every action. The camera’s movement and the location are described with angles and shots, for example, high angles and tracking shots. The actions of what the actors should be doing in each scene are also included. Sound is specific, especially diegetic and dialogue between characters. The titles are written in black pen to have an idea of where they should be placed in the scene. It also helps to plan out what titles we want to use for our final task. Hopefully, our group would not have to add more scenes because it is a short opening sequence. 

Planning: Location, Sound, Participants, Safety, and Schedule

Attached is the location, sound, participants, safety, and schedule of our final task. The locations used for our film will be Mariapaula's house and her neighbor's house. We will mostly be using the inside of M's house as the setting for both the Driver and the Victim. We will use different rooms to add the illusion of the Driver and Victim getting ready in different houses. We will mainly only use the outsides of the house for establishing shots. The sound used will be royalty-free background music used throughout the entire two minutes. Other sounds will be mainly sound effects like doors opening or faucets running. Participants will be all four of us. Darwin and Mariapaula are the actors, while Rafael and Emily will work behind the scenes. One slide on the slideshow is the overall schedule of the project, while another slide is the filming schedule in detail. In the slideshow, we covered many practices we will be doing to make sure we are safe at all times. For example, one scene involves the Driver shaving his face. During that scene, the razor being used will be dulled to prevent cuts.

Planning: Title Design

Attached is the planning for our title design for our final task. We want our titles to be unique and eyecatching. We do not want them to be just some words we throw at the bottom of the screen. We decided on using different fonts depending on when and where the titles will pop up. For example, a chilling font will be used for titles that go up during the Driver's scenes. And for the victim's scenes, a happier font will be used for those titles. The main title will be bold and large to attract the audience's attention and so that you will not be able to miss it. Most titles in the two minutes will be monochromatic, meaning it will either by black on white, or white on black. The spacing for only the main title will be different since the font we are using puts the letters too close together. The titles will fit the background and most will last 2-3 seconds, long enough for the general audience to read.

Planning: Sound Script

Attached in this blog is the sound script for our final task. This is the script for every sound made, including dialogue, music, and any form of noise made. Each slide contains at least 2 scenes from our film, which describes all the sounds made in that particular scene. It shows whether or not the scene is playing music, and describes what genre or mood it makes if there was any. As well as any form of exchange in dialogue between characters, or a noise that someone makes. The sound script also includes sounds of objects or movement in the scene. For example, if the shower were to turn on, the slide would describe the sound of the handle, as well as the sound of the showerhead itself. If there happens to be no dialogue of any sort in the scene, it will be mentioned. Additionally, it also states the kind of sounds that are occurring: diegetic or non-diegetic. Diegetic meaning that both the characters and the audience can hear the sound happening in that scene, and non-diegetic meaning that only the audience hears what the characters cannot.

Planning: Shooting Script

Attached is the shooting script for our final task. Each slide contains the general shooting details of each scene. For example, the second slide is for scene 1. It comprises the type of shots and angles in the scene. It has what the character(s) or subject(s) are doing in the scene. It also has the lighting; whether it is bright and cheery or dark and gloomy. The entire slide show is thirteen slides: one slide for the title and twelve slides for each of the twelve scenes. A majority of the scenes are morning-routine scenes from both Carolina's and Kenneth's point of view. Their routines are cut together to compare and contrast their preparation for the day. For example, while Kenneth just messes with his hair really quickly, Carolina puts thought into how she looks for the day.

Title Research: Split

            I found the title sequence for this film, Split, on the website Art of the Title. The genre for this film is under the Thriller category. The film seems to have already briefly started. Before the titles appear, a clip plays of a man wearing a mask and glasses, holding a spray bottle reaches his arm towards the camera inside of a car. In total, there were 22 titles, with the first one being the name of the production company, Universal Studios. The titles are presented on a simple black background with white text. When transitioning to a new title, a 4x6 grid of the next title appears flashing, which then all goes black and reveals the next title. The first three all include the production companies and the creator of the film. The following title is simply the name of the movie: Split. In between some of the titles are little clips of a hallway of some sort, in which the camera slowly pans down revealing a woman being transported on a cart through it. The rest of the titles display some of the actors' names and the production team (e.g. Music Producer, Executive Producer, etc.). The final title is simply the text saying "Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan."

           The images shown throughout the title sequence carry the connotation that the movie is mysterious and ominous. The woman being transported through the hallways unconsciously on a cart is not something that typically is a daily occurrence for most. This gives the audience a sense that something bad is about to happen, and encourages them to continue watching. The text used in the title sequence is connected when on top of each other. For example, the letter "Y and L" would be connected through the bottom of the Y and top of the L. This reinforces the name and genre of the movie "Split" which is ironic since the letters in the titles aren't split. The music is also very eerie, as it has no melody, beat, or lyrics. Simply just background noise, mixed with humming and rumbling. This also reinforces the genre as the music can give the audience a thrilling experience. 

           The film establishes an enigma from the beginning by cutting in the middle of the scene of the man with the mask. The man is clearly up to no good, and by cutting right as the audience is about to see what occurs, it builds mystery and hype to continue watching. As well as the woman being transported in the hallways. The viewers have no clue what has happened and what might happen later. All of these strategies are also used to ensure that the film appeals to viewers who enjoy Thriller films. Technology has been used effectively by the way that the title sequence is presented. Since it is simply text, the camera plays no part in it. They must use computer software to generate the grids flashing for the transitions, and the connected text, as well as adding the bits and pieces of clips during the sequence. When the camera is being used, the camera angles are from a low angle looking upward. Which with every new clip after each title, it slowly pans downward, which then reaches and reveals the woman on the cart.

Title Research: The Reaping

          Using the website www.watchthetitles.com, the opening scene of the movie The Reaping was available for viewing. While viewing the scene I counted the number of titles used in it. To my surprise, there were 26 titles! Opening scenes seem to be relatively short while watching movies, I did not expect there to be this many in what I thought was such a short amount of time. Also to my surprise, the title of the movie wasn’t the first or last title shown, it was in the middle. The beginning title was “directed by Stephen Hawkings,” and the last title was “A Stephen Hawkings Film.” During the opening sequence, images of leaves, the moon, a frog leg, hair, eyelashes, eyes, a chemical looking substance, an arm, dried-up land, and bugs which were briefly flashed. Most were dark with poor lighting and were faded in and out from black screens. The images that weren’t dark or shaded had some element with black in it. For example, the clip of the chemical substance started with a green chemical substance with drops of a black liquid being put into it. The clips of extremely close up hair and eyelashes look very similar to the insect legs. Overall, the images created a sort of eerie mood, a very thriller. Just from the intro, we can see objects that contain aspects of the movie that foreshadow what will happen. They have mysterious yet dark connotations to them. The multiple angles, shots, perspectives of each image and the speed at which they’re flashed get the viewers on edge. Even the contrast between the black screen and the images make the viewer pay more attention to each detail.

            Throughout the opening scene, the thriller genre is showed with the dark, mysterious aspects included in it. The seemingly random objects hold a deeper meaning in this film. For example, the chemicals, insects, eyes, and hair give off the idea that the movie will contain some sort of disease, outbreak, or chaos, maybe even a drought. Of course, maybe not every object is significant. However, if they’re not important than they’re included to set the mood for the movie. After all, this is only an introduction to the movie, it must give off the suspenseful feel crucial to the thriller genre. The opening scene also includes fast music and a type-writer-like font that also adds to the suspenseful mood. The early enigma of the movie is well supported by the background music because of the rapid beating behind the sound of the eerie violins. The font is blood red, smeared, and faint. Fonts like these are obviously eerie, they give an old timely, apocalyptic feel to the words. These aspects give very little to no information. This can appeal to viewers because they want to know what happens next. The suspense created throughout also makes them want to know what’s coming; what the objects they just showed mean. The flashes and music make the audience think this is going to be a film filled with rapid changes of emotion, this appeals to fans of the thriller genre for obvious reasons: thrillers are meant to cause fluctuations of emotion. Another topic, which I find interesting, are the different angles, transitions, and editing techniques the creators of this opening scene used. For instance, they used different angles of the same object to put new titles on the same image but at a different angle. They also transitioned almost everything with fade-in and fade-outs, they matched the music playing in the background that heightens the suspense. The titles are put in different places each time, they cause you to look at a different part of the screen. Even the movement of eyes this causes make the viewers pay more attention to the images in the background. Overall, the opening scene in this film doesn’t provide a lot of contexts, but it does set the correct mood for the film and what it will be like.

Title Research: Panic Room

          This was taken from the website, Art of the Title, and it is under the genre of Thriller. The logo of Columbia Pictures, which comes from Sony, fades in. This is used to give the audience the info of the movie they are watching and what film studio it comes from. The first scene of this movie seems to be an establishing shot of a large city, with the title of the company that produced it. That is one of 20 titles that are seen throughout the entire opening sequence. The first three titles are the production companies, and then it leads to the names of some actors. The list is quickly paused, with the title of the movie being shown. The next scenes present the rest of the actors in the film and the technical support who helped make the movie. In each image, it is easier to make out that this large city is actually New York City. With these aerial shots, they are taken to popular places around the city, for example, Times Square, Empire State Building, even Central Park. Title 20 was the expected "Directed by," which is always seen before the movie begins. Transitions are very abrupt because each scene is only a few seconds long.

          The design for the titles is unique, for it has a 3D effect, where the letters being angled the same as the buildings. This matches the mood of the intense music and setting portrayed. Also, the camera seems to start at an aerial shot and proceeds to lower to the ground. Before the movie actually begins, the last title scene is at a low angle, and a long shot of Central Park. I would assume that this is to tell the audience that the movie is about to begin and the characters will be introduced.

           The genre is reinforced in this opening sequence by some intense music and the titles design, looking bold and realistic. They look realistic because they cast shadows on the buildings and are reflected through the windows. The fonts are also large and high in the air, to give the audience "low-grade anxiety," according to the description. Usually, when something is high and unreachable, it symbolizes wealth and power. This creates a strange presence that haunts the city. This leaves the audience to wonder what will take place in New York. However, one would not know if the movie is a thriller because the setting is on a nice day in fall and characters are talking about something they are excited about. That is if they never watched the trailer for the movie. The proposed idea that the characters are discussing is of a building, and how it is going to be a great investment; and for movies that discuss houses, the main plot will be about the house and what it has. It might have a great feature or a haunting/powerful one.

          Strategies used to appeal to the audience is making the names of the actors appear visible and are on for a few seconds for them to acknowledge who will be in the movie. The enigma that is established from the outset is where the rest of the film will take place, which is later found out that it is in the house that contains the "panic room."

Title Research: Hostage

          The movie I researched is called Hostage. It is listed on Google as a Crime Thriller. I found this opening sequence on the "Watch the Titles" website. I counted 31 separate titles that were shown off in unique ways. Sometimes the title would blend in with the floor or a wall. Other times the title would be on a prop like a gun. Many images of the setting were prioritized in the opening sequence. It displays an industrial area on the outskirts of a big city. There appears to be a crime scene inside one of the big warehouses. Also, so images of men with weapons and firepower were shown, tying back into the crime theme.

          All of the images carry a mysterious connotation. They all make the audience curious about what transpired here. "What caused the news and police to come to this setting? Why are there a ton of men armed to the teeth?" It's all to lure the audience in and capture their attention. Crime is a staple in the thriller genre. So the crime scene-setting fits right at home in this thriller movie. Also, the firearms and goons in black are pretty in this genre, and in movies in general. However, I believe that that feature fits more into action movies than thrillers. Additionally, the camera moving around frozen subjects is seen a lot in other thriller movie openings.

          At the start of the opening, a newscaster is appeared to be in front of a crime scene. So it can be safe to assume that this incident will be very relevant to the story. Also, at the very end of the sequence, it transitions into the start of the movie. It flows into a furious man talking on the phone about, what I can assume, the crime that took place in the first location. The use of dark colors, monotone colors with blood-red highlights set the notion that this is not a kid's movie. And if that wasn't enough, the constant display of guns makes sure that this is targeted at mature audiences. 

          The whole opening sequence seems to be a render CGI model of a city and an industrial area. The people in shots seem to be models aswell. The camera is constantly moving through and around interesting shots. It would start really close to an object, then pull back and reveal a title and the associated people. The camera would also use tracking shots to reveal names and titles on walls and floors. The last shot is a filter put over a real person. The filter is then removed and it transitions into the first scene of the movie.

Title Research: Art of the Title Website

          This website shows the use of titles in movies, and even gives examples of what some may look like. Art of the Title is a very presentable site and we are on hereto explore the different designs of titles, especially from every genre. Each group member has to choose a movie's opening scene under our genre, to conduct research. This is for us to know the conventions of how the titles are for thriller films. What was seen is that the website has a very long list of all the designers and studios that make the titles for movies. This would be useful if we are researching how the individual designs their own titles, probably if they use the same font to establish it is them. There is also a lengthy page of many movies. These are clips of the beginning of the featured films. There are not only movies but TV shows too, even ones from Netflix. Following the clip, under it, there is a description of the movie and titles used and information on who directed, what studio it was in, and the styles. After watching some of the clips, the website does not always offer the opening title sequence, but only the end credits. Also, some of the descriptions give interviews that are held with the producers and directors. What was learned is that the beginning sequence offers the names of actors, and usually the most known/famous one is seen first. The director is the title scene that is always put before the movie begins. This is to remind the audience who was the person to create the film that they are watching.

Title Research: Watch the Titles Website

        We are using this website to research different opening sequences for our own film. This website contains a several distinct title sequences for a range of genre options. The website also has title sequences for TV shows, video games, and even student projects. This is a great website to research the conventions of openings for movies.
          Our main focus is on the thriller movie opening segments. A recurring characteristic of each clip is that it is ended with "Directed By." We learned that, even though movies share a similar genre, their openings can be drastically unique. Also, we noticed that although the movies have different genres, they have similar titles in the opening scene. We learned that actors usually do not have titles associated with their name. In some cases, the actors are famous enough that audiences watch the movie for them, so they should already know who they are. In other cases, it can be assumed that the names popping up are actors. Other titles, such as "edited by","music by", and "casting by" are showed with the corresponding staff member. Another common element used in opening sequence are cutting to black to show the titles of each of the people that worked on the movie. The film would show a movie scene of something going and then in between each shot, they would flash the titles. Slow motion is also used quite frequently.

Genre Research: The Clovehitch Killer (2018)

          The Clovehitch Killer, like any other, was filled with camera shots, angles, and movements. Among the camera shots were establishing shots, over the shoulder shots, many close-ups, long shots, medium-long shots, medium close-ups, and medium shots. It’s important to bring to attention that the establishing shots were very important in this movie. Showing where the characters were or were about to enter also told the audience whether this was out of the ordinary. For example, when the main character’s dad entered one of his victims’ houses. Camera angles frequently used were low angles and mainly eye level. I saw few to non-oblique and high angles. Lastly, recurring camera movements were tracking shots, pans, tilts and tracking shots.

         The costumes in the movie were regular, for the most part. However, there was a scene where the main character’s dad dressed up as a woman using his mom’s clothes. He put on a mask and took pictures of himself being choked by a rope. This costume, in particular, stood out extremely from the rest. Before this scene, the costumes were normal civilian clothes. The only one that strayed from this were Boy Scout uniforms. The costume additionally composed of heels was the father's attempt to satisfy his desires by using mock pictures. The lighting throughout the movie is quite dull. It fits in with the small-town feel, the small-town aura. There is occasional dark lighting creating an eerie feel to the corresponding scenes such as when the main character discovers his dad’s secret room under the house. The props in this film are especially important. The Polaroid pictures and licenses found of the father’s victims, his camera, the clove hitch knot found at all of the scenes adds to that character's signature.

        The sounds, or lack of sounds, in The Clovehitch Killer adds an especially eerie and suspenseful mood to the film. While watching the film you can hear a pin drop! There’s a scene where the family is having dinner and the awkwardness felt by all of them is very realistic, down to the faint chewing noises that can actually be heard at a real dinner table. The lack of diegetic sounds that can be found in cities or suburban areas adds to the small-town feel. One of the only songs played throughout the movie is when the dad is alone in the house dressing up as a woman and taking pictures of himself. It’s shut off when the main character’s love interest knocks on the door and he immediately goes around the house hiding evidence of what he was doing.

         Like any film, the creators of the movie utilized many editing techniques. One of the main techniques being cross-cutting. Throughout the film, the scenes are cut from what the main character is doing and what his father is. In one of the most vital scenes where the main character catches his father in the act, shot-reverse-shot is used in the conversation they have in which the father convinced the main character to give him the hunting rifle. Before this, the main character’s love interest looks at a revolver placed on top of a dresser, where we see an eye-line match. Another example of crossing cutting is right at the end when the main character is giving his speech while being promoted from a Boy Scout to a leader and we see what really happened to his father after the altercation in the scene before the jump cut. Speaking of, between the altercation where the main character confronts his dad there’s a passage of time. When this scene ends a missing poster of his dad is shown stapled to a light post. There are many other examples of editing in the movie, we would be here all day if I went over them.

          The Clovehitch Killer follows many of the conventions that come along with thriller movies. One of those being the intense eye contact in pressing scenes. There is definitely suspense-fulness throughout the movie. A good example of this would be one the main character handed over the gun he had been pointing at his dad and his dad says “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed,” he then points the gun to his son’s heart at pulls the trigger and is shocked to find out that the gun was unloaded. There is a slight moment where the audience doesn’t know what’s going to happen and then the son takes the gun and they begin to have a physical fight. The film goes against conventions in the aspect of noise. There is barely any noise at all throughout the scene; there is no jaws theme song playing in the background, it’s mostly absolute silence otherwise than the dialogue.

         I have an opinion about the elements of this movie, just like any other. As a general comment, I liked the movie. I liked the plot, I liked the silence, I liked how it was not all about the main character and his love interest. I also very much enjoyed how the movie begins with a Boy Scout meeting and ends with one as well. I didn’t like the girl in the beginning who finds the Polaroid picture and blames the son, but that’s just my opinion about that character. I feel like the fistfights were a little scrawny. The movie was dragged on quite a bit; you would think it was coming to an end and boom another scene is introduced. However, ending the movie where it did was really good. The final words “Dad if you’re hearing this, I love you,” really left me thinking. After all, it was his dad. However, I feel as if more emotion was needed from him, he remained very calm throughout, it was a little unrealistic. Overall, I liked the movie I would watch it again, however, it’s not an absolute favorite.

Genre Research: Get Out (2017)

          There are multiple different camera angles & shots used throughout the entire movie. Some of them being: tilt, pan, zoom, shot reverse shot, and more. Whenever two characters were speaking with each other, there would be a shot/reverse shot focused on those specific characters, and their emotions and expressions. Throughout the majority of the film, it would stay at an eye-level angle, with the occasional high angle and low angle, of course (especially in intense scenes). The reason for this is to fully immerse the audience into the film, for them to have a better experience and to feel as if they are among the characters and as if they were in there, too. There were many fighting scenes in this film, and whenever those would occur, there would be tilts, pans, and zooms. This is mostly done to give the fighting scene more life and action. The film would also have many close up shots. Mostly whenever a character would cry, get a nose bleed, ponders, or is just speaking in general. Many establishing shots would also occur. This is done to let the audience know where the current scene is about to take place in (e.i. Rose's House, The Police Station, etc.).

        In the film, the camera tends to move frequently, especially during intense scenes. There is a scene where Chris tries to leave the house and the white people confront him. In this scene, he realizes the situation he is in. There is somewhat of a fight between him and the others. The camera pans and tilts a lot, as they go back and forth between Chris and the white people. In the end, Chris falls to the ground, and the camera is at a high angle, as the others look down at him. Later, in another fight scene, Chris escapes the room where he was placed in before, unconscious. He attacks the person in his room who is unaware of his presence. As he kills him, the camera does a close-up of his face and a high angle of the body on the ground. It then pans to a deer head mounted on the wall. Then, the scene cross-cuts to a man operating on a man's head in the room nearby, when the camera follows Chris as he runs into the man with the deer head, killing him.

         The costumes and clothes used in the film were meant to be distinctive, between the rich, old, classy white people who wore more fancy and traditional clothing, while Chris and his friends wore more modern attire. The lighting in the film is also very ominous, especially in important scenes (like fighting) where it was very dim and tense. The action in the film is very present, as there were many important and violent encounters between the characters. The makeup is not very noticeable in the film, but you can clearly see it on the characters. Makeup is especially used on the white people at the house, to show how cleaned up and classy they were, while Chris wasn't. Many props were used in the film. Mostly used to show that they were in a fancy house. Such as very expensive and fancy furniture all throughout the house. The setting of the film is meant to appear to be a small town, with some urban areas, but then Chris leaves to the suburban areas with Rose, where he spends most of the film in.

          Throughout the entire movie, there is a lot of eerie music, to give the film an ominous tone and sense. As well as numerous editing techniques, like the cross-cutting, and CGI used in the film. Some of the elements that I enjoyed about this movie was the music and the lighting. The music gave me a very nervous and chilling vibe throughout the film, knowing something bad is about to happen. The lighting also did this, many of the scenes took place at night, using dim lighting. This can be considered candles, street lights, and simply dim indoor lighting. However, I disliked the climax and build-up toward it. I felt as if it was too direct, and I wish it were more mysterious. Some elements of the Thriller Genre used in this film was the dim lighting, tense music, diegetic sound of breathing, and quick cuts. All of these were used throughout the film in one way or another.

Genre Research: Joker (2019)

          There are several different camera angles and shots used throughout the movie. For discussions between two characters, the film mainly used shot/reverse shot to capture each of the characters' emotions and dialogue. One of the character's shoulders would block half the screen so that the main focus of the shot is on the other character's face. The film usually stays at an eye-level angle. This is used to immerse the audience, make them feel like they are a citizen of Gotham. Unlike other movies where they use a drone to establish a location, the film uses a pan at eye-level looking up at the location. Almost as if the viewer was there themselves and turned their necks to get a better view. There is one scene in the film where Arthur Fleck dances with his mother in the living room. It is a two-shot filmed from the kitchen of the apartment. The camera is handheld and moves a bit to make the audience feel like they are just witnesses of what is happening from the inside of their home.

          The camera moves a whole lot in this movie. The only time it is not moving, is when characters are talking to each other. There is one scene where Arthur and his mother are having an argument and you really feel like you are there. The camera is placed a little under eye-level so its as if you are looking through the eyes of a child. The camera follows Arthur's mother to her room where she screams and then shuts the door on the camera. Then the camera turns and faces Arthur when he bangs on the door really loudly. Arthur then walks away from the door and the whole time the camera follows his movements. Another scene happens where Arthur chases a couple of kids that stole his sign. The camera appears to be on top of a car as it follows both Arthur and the kids. The camera then comes to a complete stop when the kids head into an alleyway.

          The score for this movie was really good. Some pieces that happen during emotional moments will stick with me forever. The cello on the piece "Call me Joker" really hits home the disturbing feel of this movie. Also, the lack of any music during some pretty tense moments really builds suspense. When Arthur's co-workers pay him a visit, it becomes really suspenseful because of the lack of any background sound.

         Editing is used to full effect in this movie. Some scenes would transition into other scenes using a multitude of transitions. Sometimes, the film would use a swipe using a car for example. When Arthur found out he was adopted, it turned into a flashback of what really happened to his mother. And fast shots scanning headlines of what his mother and her boyfriend did to him were used to really emphasize the scale of the trauma. The editing combined with Arthur's uncontrollable laughter is used to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Arthur.
          Elements of Joker I enjoyed were the amazing acting and the story. Joaquin Phoenix did a great job with the character Arthur Fleck. Even after all the bad things he does, you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. Also, his laugh is haunting. I can still hear in my head while I am writing this. There were only a couple of elements of Joker I disliked. Some scenes were a bit ham-fisted. For example, the scene revealing that Arthur's relationship with Sophia was a delusion was a bit much. I would have liked it if it just ended at, "Why are you in my home?"

Genre Research: Kidnap (2017)

        There is a multitude of angles, movements, and shots in this feature film. Considering that many movies use a lot because they are very long in time length. I have seen establishing shots of where scenes will take place, and especially close-ups of character's faces to get their reactions. Two and three-shots are involved in the beginning, however, progressing more into the plot, there are extreme closeups of many objects, including the eyes of the mother, who is in panic and in tears. Some movements in this thriller would be rapid camera motions, such as flash pans when the mother is trying to look for her son. In order to make most of the scenes intense, there are tracking shots of the mom chasing the kidnapper and trying to retrieve her son. For more than half of the movie, the main character is pursuing to catch the child abductor in her car. Aerial shots of this chase are displayed in order to show what is happening on the highway from a different perspective.

        Costumes are ordinary, casual clothing for the mom and other people in a public setting; kidnappers are in sketchy outfits, for example, hoodie and sunglasses, trying to conceal who they are. For most of the movie, there is natural lighting, but at the point where the mom finally finds her child, it is at night, in low to no light. At some point in the film, there is dim light when the cars go into a tunnel. The setting is in a small town but later turned into a car chase on the highway to a location ending up in the woods. Weapons, phones, even a toy that records sound are used as props in the movie.

        Moving into sound, the producers added incidental sound to go along with the mood portrayed in the scenes. The music is very intense, making the audience be at "the edge of their seats." The diegetic sound is very unique because only certain sounds become louder as the scenes are becoming more intense. When she is driving and gets into a crash, the scene goes silent since she is in shock. Dialogue appears throughout the whole movie as well. For editing, flashbacks are included, such as a montage of the son and pictures of his childhood. Related to the flashback would be when the mother is listening to the conversation of the kidnapper and her son (before kidnapping takes place), and it keeps crosscutting from the conversation to her listening to it on the device. There are eye-line matches of the main character searching for something in her surroundings, then it cuts to the next clip of what she is looking at.
    Thrillers are described based on the moods they elicit, which would usually cause heightened feelings, such as excitement, suspense, and anticipation/anxiety. With the movie 'Kidnap,' it invokes anticipation during the entire movie. Most likely causes a "rollercoaster of emotions" to the audience by incorporating as many camera movements possible to confuse, and sound to make scenes dramatically intense. Some elements that appealed would be the situations that the mother would run into, in order to keep the movie interesting, and leaving the audience to overwhelmed as to what will happen next. The action in this movie is very entertaining because it portrays how a mom will not stop at anything in order to get her child back, safe and sound. The only element that was not favored in this film was how long the chase took in order to find her son. The rising action was when she finally stopped the chase, but in order to really get her son back, the mother had to keep looking for the location her son was at. The climax was when she finally found him and other children, and how she would be able to escape safely.

The genre we picked is...

          Horror and Thriller were the final contenders to choose between from. The genre that my group and I finally agreed on was Thriller. The reason behind it was because we enjoyed the pitch about a kidnapping movie, and these types of movies are mainly under this genre. Most of our favorite movies are thrillers and contain a lot of action, so we were excited to continue our research upon them. We also had to acknowledge that it would be pretty hard to record the opening scenes for a horror movie, without knowing what a good pitch would be. With a thriller, you can begin the movie with anything, such as background information, or present the characters directly. Like previously mentioned, the group will be researching more about this genre, and how some movies lead up to their climaxes and entertain audiences.

Additional Genre Research: Horror and Thriller

Horror

Thriller

          Common camera movements and angles used in this movie genre are pans, zooms, tilts, tracking shots, and every angle possible. If the situation is intense, the angle will be at eye-level and will zoom in on the character's reaction. High angles are also used to catch everything that is happening, and to make the subject look inferior to whatever it is looking upon. Canted angles can sometimes be incorporated to confuse viewers. Common shots that are used in these films are closeups, extreme closeups and long shots, and handheld shots. Sometimes, handheld shots while running away from something causes more anticipation with scenes, that way the audience is more entertained. Whoever is watching would not know if they can get away, or get to where the character is going in time, since there is so much camera movement.

          Lighting that is commonly found in thriller movies is low because the darker it looks, it evokes a more sinister feeling. There is also the use of natural lighting, before and after movies, probably even throughout. The sound that is heard in thrillers would be diegetic, where characters hear whatever is in their surroundings, there is obviously dialogue and incidental sound. Incidental sound involves the feeling that a scene gives off, and the music to match with it. An example would be the killer looking for its victim and he is getting closer, so the music gets louder and scarier. 

          Costumes for thrillers all depend on the type of movie it is. When there is a plot of a killer or abductor, they will be dressed in something suspicious, especially to cover their faces, like a mask. Thrillers are usually situations that could happen in real life, where people would actually be nervous if it happened. Regular clothing would be worn, but if the actors get harmed in any way, their makeup and clothes will definitely show it. For example, getting hit in the face will lead to a bleeding lip or nose, or getting thrown out of a car causes your clothes to be torn up and dirty. Actors have to play their act fully, like being anxious and scared, but still fight for their life when they have been kidnapped. Locations could range from a small city to a large known state, like California, New York, or Florida. However, they sometimes take place partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts (snow too), and at sea.  

          Some elements that come from thrillers are when the movies create a suspenseful feeling to the audience, giving the anticipation of what is going to happen next. This usually happens when the plot is surrounding the idea of the character being placed in a dangerous situation or a trap that is impossible to escape. Audiences want to be entertained, kept on edge, surprised. Thriller movies fit these criteria exactly. It gives them a reason to continue watching the movie and to see what happens in the end. Although, elements that do not appeal could be how a movie can be too predictable. Examples of these predictable endings are when a person is being chased and are caught and killed, or have to escape. Alternatively, thriller movies can have very unexpected endings. These endings leave the audience in a shock or surprise that leaves an imprint on them, even after the movie has ended.