Genre Research: Love, Simon

Love, Simon

Screen Behavior: followed the previously listed conventions for a romance film, featuring fades for the opening and exiting scenes, jumps cuts, wide shots, two shots, with close-ups, over the shoulder shots and included an aerial shot (or high angle). We saw many shot-reverse shots along with crossing to move along dialogue. The film also made use of inserts when the characters "texts" (really emails) came into play.

Sound: The film, for the most part, relies on diegetic sound, only using non-diegetic music when transitioning from one large plot tread to another, (In the entirety of the film, non-diegetic sound only appeared twice.) and voiceovers present to accompany inserts

Makeup: No over the top makeup was used, being kept at a minimum

Setting: High school, home, party, and fair 

Elements of the Genre: The story was fairly compelling, being that it was of two young men who had fallen in love without knowing one another. With a clear obstacle, the film seeks to resolve this a bring the lovers together in the end. The mood is set to be happy with moments of sadness to provoke the audience to root for the couple.

Mis-en-scene: The color blue, both in name and color, represented the second lover in the story and presented itself whenever a person would be assumed to be said person.

Missed elements of the Genre: Unlike most romantic films, we aren't truly introduced to the other half of the love story until the end. The story was written with an element of mystery, keeping the audience guessing along with the characters in the film. Along with that, this story was not the classic male and female love story the genre is used to seeing, and rightfully so due to its intention.

Elements of the film I liked: LGBT representation is big; going against the convention of the genre speaks volumes. I also admired the progression of the story and how the audience wasn't thrown into these characters but rather got to know them over the course of the movie until the reveal. 

Elements of the film I disliked: Even though it was intended I didn't like the selfishness of the story's perspective; it was isolated and limited to the one person instead of two, or less common for the genre none. 

Genre Research: 'Everything, Everything'

Genre Research: 'Everything, Everything'

 

Camera Angles:

• The film begins with a medium close-up of the protagonist on a swinging chair, moving behind it to show an establishing shot.
• Tracking shot is used to follow the protagonist as she walks across the room. 
• Handheld shots to show certain scenes inside a car. 
• Camera often zooms in to show off props.
• Characters are often shown with close up's, medium close up's, and wide shots.
• Two shots of the characters. 
• Over the shoulder shots are used to show the protagonist looking out her window. 
• Low angles whenever the love interest is shown outside the protagonist's window. 
• Camera pans often to show off scenery. 

Lighting: 

• The lighting in the movie is mainly done with natural lighting, as half of the movie is spent inside the protagonist's window. Lighting often shines through the house because it has windows all around the house. 
• Whenever night time comes, lighting from inside the house becomes the main form. 
• Extra emphasis on characters faces' when they're upset or angry. 
• Dim lighting inside airplanes and when planes are landing. 

Actors: 

• Actors are very skilled, good at conveying the intended tone of the movie. 
• The protagonist often has contradicting facial expressions. Although her voice over's make her seem very sad, she often has a lazy smile. She's very emotional and impulsive.
• The protagonist's mother is very protective and sometimes distant when she treats her daughters' condition. 
• The love interest/male protagonist is very charming and enticing for the female lead. Understanding and fun, sometimes awkward.
• The mother and the male lead are very good at effective dialogue, easily maintaining a certain level of tension in their first scene speaking together. 
• The nurse is not the most present character, but she's integral to the storyline-- her acting could've been worse. 

Makeup: 

• Makeup is very minimal, there's almost little to none besides most likely some products to make the actors' complexions look perfect. 
• The protagonist sometimes wears a bit of makeup when she's seen with her love interest. 
• Characters were dressed casually for the majority of the movie, in streetwear or things that are often worn at home (pajamas, sweatpants, etc). 

Props: 

• Props are emphasized, especially in the start of the movie.
• Zoom-ins to the scrabble board as the mother and female lead are playing. 
• Workout machines the protagonist uses.
• The computer the protagonist uses.
• Books, headphones, phones, sticky notes the nurse leaves around.
• Drawings the lead makes.

Setting:

• The first half of the movie is mainly taking place in the protagonist's house (since she can't leave because of her illness).
• The character is seen in large libraries (because she has a hobby of reading). 
• Outside/on the road with her love interest, in his car. 
• Walking around her neighborhood and outside her love interests' house.
• The beach with the protagonist and her love interest. 
• Vacation home and hotel. 
• Bookstores. 
• Planes and airports with the love interest. 
• Nature in general, since the protagonist starts to explore the outside.

Sounds:

• Sounds in the movie are mainly diegetic, since there's no use for other types. 
• Seatbelt's buckling. 
• Planes taking off and landing. 
• Basic movements of characters walking and their clothes ruffling. 
• Car driving and wind blowing through windows.
• Alarms and doorbells going off. 
• Crickets are heard chirping at night. 
• Background music is in place of certain scenes to make them seem awkward or happy. 
• Water running when characters wash their hands.
• Air blowing harshly when they enter the airlock at the front of the leads' house. 
• Voice-overs are a main point to the start of the film. 

Editing: 

• Many jump-cuts. 
• Eye line matches. 
• Cutaways.
• Inserts to show off a definition of the protagonists' illness.
• Shot/Reverse shot's in conversations. 
• Multiple transitions through scenes (i.e: looking out the window, falling out onto the grass).
• The protagonist is shown in the beginning as if she's outside, when in reality, she isn't. 

Elements I Like: 

• I liked that the chemistry between the two leads was very apparent from the beginning. 
• A level of romantic interest was established the moment the protagonist laid eyes on the male.
• The mothers role as both a doctor and a parent was shown really well, being more professional sometimes and more laid-back other times.
• The routine that every character had to do to get inside the protagonists house was very consistent. 
• In my opinion, any movie based on a book has potential to be very interesting. 
• The actors were really beautiful. 

Elements I Dislike: 

• I found the impulsive nature of the protagonist to be really annoying and disruptive.
• The love between the two leads was incredibly mushy. Not enough angst, no heart break. 
• The role of the nurse seemed kind of random to me. 
• It was really unrealistic to me that literally only three people knew the female lead was alive. I mean... you can see through the windows to her house that she's clearly there. 
• The concept, although it's interesting (the illness part), was basically a setup for a pure romance movie. It didn't give the extra drama or suspense that I would've liked. 

Genre Research: Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy rich Asians:

Common CLAMPS:

Camera angles:

tilts

pan

track shots

high angle

low angle

mid close up

two shot

three shot

wide shots

establishing shots

Lighting:

it depended on what the director wanted the audience to feel

with the sad moods the lighting was dark and or the color tone was muted

the happy moments were bright and full with pastel and bright colors

the lighting for the romantic scene highlighting the people the lighting was cast over

Acting:

the acting for this movie was very good and showed lots of emotions

the lead female was a strong character but sensitive on the inside

the lead male was a very minor character in this and was oblivious to most things

the lead males mother was a strong character that had lots of character development at the end

the lead females best friend was the comic relief when the times were happy or confusing for the audience it provided the lead female with strength when she needed it 

Makeup:

for the main characters the makeup was at a minimum to show how they weren't fancy until they went to the party 

the females that were used to add tension in the story all were dressed really fancy with many props and flashy makeup

Props:

there were a lot of props in this movie

to the decor of the wedding

to the food

to the dresses

to the peoples clothing and purses

to the things in the houses

to the dogs and the toys

to the kids and their props

to the jewelry

to the things the lead females friend bought

to the mahjong table and pieces

to the helicopter and airplane 

etc...

Settings:

london

singapore

new york

Kuala Lumpur

 Langkawi

 Penang

 Malaysia

the beach

Common Sound :

there was many changes in sounds

sound of the city

sounds of the airport

sounds of the music

classical music

chinese pop music 

voice overs 

Common Editing:

There were many inserts 

many jump cuts 

there was many different transitions 

Elements:

the colors the director chose along with the lighting told the mood of the story quite well to the happy and bright colors to the dark and muted colors

The settings were gorgeous 

London with muted colors for the past

singapore with its bright and many colors showing the vast culture there

the classroom showing a darker pallet showing incompleteness with being there from the perspective of the lead male character

the mahjong table to show her sills and how she choose her paths wisely and not to play not to lose but to play to win. 

the camera angles showed the different characters personalities and styles throughout the movie. The lead character female has been shown with high angle shots at the beginning to show how she felt small with the male leads family but the angle changes when she decides to leave him for a bit and changes from a low angel to a straight ahead and mid to wide shots of her.

Did Appeal:

I loved the wedding scene as a whole the beautiful music (voice-over), complimented the scene ,and what was going on throughout the whole piece. I was blown away at the care that the directors put in to make it look and feel like a real wedding. The props and all of the costumes and makeup was gorgeous.  The settings the director choose made every element in the movie shine to the colors they choose to the way the scenes flowed together.

Did not appeal to you:

I didn't like the MANY jump cuts and the constant use of inserts. For this genre and this movie I know they were just trying to appeal to the audience that watch chinese romance movies. Chinese romance movies have many inserts and jump cuts to see all the perspectives in a short amount of time while also giving the individual actor screen time but it was all to much. 

Genre Research: To all the boys I've loved before

' To all the boys i've loved before'

Common camera angles-
Two shot is a very commonly used angle in this movie. Due to its focus on two main characters many scenes are a two shot of both characters whether kissing, fighting or just talking. Another commonly used angle was a closeup and medium close up. This was done to focus on the main character as a voice over was used to help us understand her emotions better.
Common Mis-en-scene-
setting: The setting in this movie was all pretty similar. The main ones were school (high school movie), Her house (where she talked about her feelings), and the field (where many big things happened to  Laura). These were done to have viewers feel as if they were apart of her life. Decor: Throughout the entire movie there is a common set of decor through each setting. In the houses there are bright (blue, yellow, green) pillows and pictures around the house. In the school bathrooms there are blue stalls and tile floors. This helped keep the mood light throughout the movie. Lighting: The lighting through the movie always seemed to be tinted a certain way. The colors seemed to pop and even pop in the way that the character was kept concentrated. This plays into the genre of the movie, the fact that its tv-14 and a drama/romance, the colors are kept illuminated to provide a positive tone. Costumes/makeup: The makeup of each character seems to be done. For Lauras best friend, her personality is very outgoing and witty and has makeup with many colors and an outfit that sticks out. For the boys, like peter, they have very calm personalities and their outfits are plain and simple, like black and white. This helped characterize each person in the movie and their role.
Common sound-
The common sounds that we heard in this film, was voice over and type of music. For the voiceovers, it was for the main character Lara and was done to express her suppressed emotions that she could never say out loud. It gave viewers insight of what she was really feeling about the people around her. The other common sound was music. Throughout the whole film, the music being played was in the pop genre. It was light hearted music that kept the tone light yet still helped the audience focus on the plot of the story.
Common editing-
There were many jump cuts in the movie to show passage of time. When traveling from school to her home or running from her home to the diner she goes to, they were cut short. There were also many shot reverse shots. During conversations, like Lara and Peter at the diner, instead of an over the shoulder scene, we see the shot constantly being switched back and forward to show the conversation progressing.
Elements-
Some elements of this romance compared to the research in the genre romance are things like, the idea of a boy and a girl being together. In this movie the two main characters are the people in relationships. The other main aspect of a romance was the happy ending. In this movie Lara ended up being with the boy that she wanted and it justified the elements of romance.
Likes-
In the film, I really enjoyed the colors used throughout the movie. I feel as if there was a tint that almost made me feel as if I was in the actual movie, I could imagine myself in Laras situation as each scene was so detailed with props that were used to intentionally reach out to the audience.
Do NOT like-
Overall the film was done very smoothly. Not many things I would say that did not appeal to me but if I had to choose a category, I would say the editing could have made the film a bit more interesting. Since it is a teen film, the audience may have less of an attention span. There could always be that one cut, like an action match that would have the audience want to know what just happened.

Genre Research: musical genre

This project was completed a few weeks ago. I did it with a separate group then I am with now. The purpose of this project was to focus on one genre to understand the elements of that genre. The one we focused on was musical genre, things like high school musical or Greece. It was a very interesting genre as it was in a positive light. Most of the elements were things that you could assume would be used in that kind of film. It really helped me understand how to analyze a genre and break it down.

sequence of horror blog

For this blog there were two main pitches to chose out of four that we came up with. We chose, "

 girl who doesn’t believe in god or faith in general accidentally became the devil and wants revenge for her past". We also chose "a movie star couple never seems to get along, except when they are eating a meal with each other ,people everywhere wonder why ,until a reporter winds up dead with parts missing and them missing. ".  Both of these pitches were hard to choose, since we felt all our ideas were good for Cambridge. In the end we decided as a group that these two could be made the most out of. In both of our ideas, We could not think of a film already done that seemed similar to any of our ideas. This made our process more simple. 

For the first pitch, I believe it is good for Cambridge due to its out of the box thinking. Religion isn't always involved in movies, including horror movies unless it is a cult or something is done in a church. For this film It would focus more on a girls journey through religion and how she is now because of it. This is something I feel Cambridge could say is different. I also think if the film turns out as expected, the audience would feel as though the lighting and editing is something that looks special. The one thing we considered a con when coming up with this idea was where to film. It would have to involve a church and would have to have some props we weren't sure we could find. Since lighting and sound is something Cambridge focuses on, if the effects of horror came out as envisioned, it could turn out well. The idea of horror is a good pitch for Cambridge also due to its ability to lure in the audience. Since there is only two minutes to keep an audience kept interested, we need to make something happen in that time. 

For the second pitch, there are similar reasons why it would be good for Cambridge. The second pitch includes more than horror. It has things like crime, romantic and drama. This will be great for Cambridge as it combines many genres together and will keep the audience interested the whole time. With this pitch we can incorporate sound and lighting in the crime scenes, angles and music in the romantic scenes and effects for the drama scene. Editing to make sure all two minutes go by smoothly will also impress Cambridge. Although the second pitch seems harder to fulfill, we feel it will fit Cambridge idea the best. Some of the cons for the second pitch is the idea of having a famous couple. We most likely would need to find fancy clothing and more actors to pretend to be fans to fulfill this idea. The other hard part would be figuring out different locations to make sure the story line stays intact. After everything we have learned about through these past quarters we felt a challenge could be best. That is why we decided to do the second pitch about a couple who is famous that does not get along and ends up leading to a murder. We feel as if it fits the ideal type for A ordinary film. 

Starting the final task

The final project is here, and I am excited to put everything to use. I am currently doing this project with the same group that I have had since the beginning of this class. For me, media and arts have never come easy to me. I have always played sports and been athletic but never had good taste in films or music. Of course, like any teenage girl I love tv shows on Netflix like gossip girl or one tree hill, although I never actually saw the perspective of a filmer, producer or director. After learning a lot about film, I actually see the shows that I watch differently. The lesson that affected me the most was type of shots, now every time I am watching a film I notice the kind of shot thats being taken and the reason for it. Although I have never been a fanatic in the film industry, I have always liked editing. Small things like videos with my friends or for school, I used to do it on my mac book on Imovie. That is why editing for these projects were fun for me, because I had previous experience and I felt confident in my ability to edit well. I want to use what I have learned to help more in the final project. The first thing I have used is my creativity. Coming up with things to film was very fun to me, I gave several opinions that were used to make up a skit. I also got a few people to be in the skit which helped us make up our idea I am also going to be an actor in the film that we make. Although it isn't something I do in my free time I find it really fun to act and play a certain role. One thing I want to achieve is helping with the filming and giving good shots that would make the film make more sense. During the editing, I want to use the small things that I learned to edit more fluently. Just getting used to cutting film and adding it in will be more efficient now that I can edit. The people in my group are Jaheim, Victoria and Emily.

To pitch a film is when you have an idea where a film is within 25 words or less in one sentence. There is a term called elevator pitch where you have about 30 seconds to pitch an idea to a big director and you want to come up with the best pitch you can in the least amount of time.  The three pitches we came up with are: 

#1 girl who doesn’t believe in god or faith in general accidentally became the devil and wants revenge for her past

#2 a movie star couple never seems to get along, except when they are eating a meal with each other ,people everywhere wonder why ,until a reporter winds up dead with parts missing and them missing. 

#3 Girls friend winds up dead and made to look like a suicide it’s up to her to find out what happened or die trying