Idea Generation & Genre Analysis
Idea Generation
Below I have attached a PDF document for my idea generation, I cover three ideas I have for my short film and talk about genre codes and conventions as well as a conclusion where I choose my idea.
Chosen Genre
My chosen genre is horror as talked about in my Rationale and Proposal, below is some genre codes and conventions that will be useful to refer to when I am thinking about producing my own horror film.
Stereotypes and conventions of the horror genre:
Suspenseful scenes that have a build up and a break, usually these scenes involve things like jumpscares or plot twists.
Dark colour coding such as black and white filters, this is to add to the dark 'feel' of the genre and keep the genre codes consistent throughout.
Sound is vital when it comes to producing a horror film, things like violent sound effects, eerie music, sound motif (e.g jaws), sudden bangs and crashes to match up with certain scenes and finally a good combination of loud and quiet.
Narrative is essential, equilibrium can be used at the start to create a good balance (peace at the start of the film). Next up would be disturbed peace so say death or a ghost/monster in frame. In some cases the ending will be established so it will almost go back to normal to meet the equilibrium which is peace, this helps to add to an eerie ending and sometimes is used as a major plot twist or cliff hanger. Usually chronological order is used in horror films (this is why some people argue they are all 'the same'), however chronological order is useful for building up suspense. The producer can also decide to add flashbacks to create context. Sometimes horrors can include a grizzly love story. Often mystery or puzzles will be used to ensure audience engagement.
Lighting is very important and can make or break a horror movie, low key lighting is used for the villian to establish the character's role. Usually a female lead would be seen as more vulnerable, due to this lighting on a female role is usually high key. This creates a sense of exposure. Horror films generally have a dark atmosphere which is tied in with lighting. Night vision can be used for 'found footage' to show the viewer that the footage is more a part of the narrative and not 100% just for the production.
Editing is crucial if you want to create a well made, professional short film. At the start of most short films the editing is slow and gradually builds up as the story line progresses. Whilst the antagonist is on screen usually the editing is fast paced and includes a lot of jump cuts, this is to build suspense and divert the scene from calm to panicked. If a horror has a chase scene jump cuts are used to create a fast paced scene, this is to really put the viewer on the edge of their seat. Extreme close ups are used for two things, the first is to keep anything else out of the frame and just have one character there. The other is to show emotions of a character. Establishing shots are often used to show the isolated elements.
Characters play a big part in horror movie stereotypes, a 'damsel in distress' (vulnerable female character) is used to divert the attention of the audience. A 'heroic failure' is often used these characters are overly confident and usually are killed of quite quickly. An antagonist is vital or otherwise there isn't much point in it being a horror. Then you have the sensible character that made the wise choice and did not get involved. You then have the heroic character that will typically save the day.
Camera angles are used for various reasons; Low angle to emphasise antagonists terror, high angle to show victims lack of power, pan and track for chase scenes, point of view (POV) to create empathy for a character and mid shots to create scale.
Mise En Scene (Make Up), blood and special effects are important in horror films mainly just to make it more realistic. Genre character stereotypes like a blonde girl with tan and make up are also used.
Mise En Scene (Iconography), realism, unnatural and iconic villains like a doll.
Mise En Scene (Props), arguably the most important especially for movies like scream where knives are used as the 'murder weapon'. Also props like blood, locked doors, torchlights and handheld cameras.
Mise En Scene (Location) - dark, isolated, eerie, woods, haunted houses and abandoned places.
Mise En Scene (Costume) - Masks, aspects of genre, dark clothes, light clothes, cloaks, uniforms and nightgowns.
Reference - (speplow, 2014)
Genre research
Analysis of three pieces of of work in a similar genre in the structure of form, content and key areas.
Chosen pieces of work:
Split
Shutter island
Schizophrenia short film on youtube
Split
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Split was produced in 2016 and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it is a very successful movie with many good reviews. Split is part of a controversial trilogy including two other movies named 'Unbreakable' (2000) and 'Glass' (2019). (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). Experts have said that the movie Split can cause harm to people with 'Dissociative Identity Disorder', this is due to the fact the movie is based on James McAvoy (Kevin) harming and frightening three teenage girls (Fischer, 2017). I have decided to analyse split as I feel it is relevant to my short film I want to produce, they focus on fairly similar topics and from watching split in the past I take influence from Shyamalan's work.
Form -
Symbolic -
Symbolic codes help to show the audience what is behind a scene. For example, a character's facial or body gestures may help to show how the character is feeling within that scene (media-studies.tki.org.nz. 2021). Due to split being a movie involving the actor 'James McAvoy' having "23 distinct personalities", his body language and facial gestures are constantly changing throughout the film. However, symbolic codes are not just to do with body language or facial expression. Symbolic codes also account for; objects, settings, clothing/costume and colour. TALK ABOUT SYMBOLIC CODES IN SPLIT AND HOW IT INFLUENCES MY PIECE
Technical -
Technical codes include ways in which equipment is used to tell a story further and in a more aesthetically pleasing way (media-studies.tki.org.nz. 2021). A good example would be the camera work in the film, camera work is vital at portraying different scenes in many ways. Usually the style of camera work correlates with the genre of the film. Technical codes also include camera techniques, framing, depth of field, juxtaposing and lighting. TALK ABOUT TECHNICAL CODES IN SPLIT AND HOW IT INFLUENCES ME IN MY PIECE.
Content -
Subject matter -
IN THIS SECTION TALK ABOUT WHAT SPLIT IS ABOUT AND WHAT THE CONTENT OF THE FILM FOCUSES ON
Narrative structure -
TALK ABOUT THE STRUCTURE AND FLOW OF THE NARRATIVE, START OF BY TALKING ABOUT THE NARRATIVE AS A WHOLE AND BREAKING IT DOWN (START, MIDDLE TO END).
Key areas relevant to my own production -
REFLECT ON THE FILM AS A WHOLE AND TALK ABOUT WHAT ASPECTS I LIKE AND AM GOING TO TAKE AND USE IN MY OWN PRODUCTION (WHAT CAMERA TECHNIQUES WERE GOOD, SOUND DESIGN , LIGHTING ETC). TALK ABOUT THE STYLE OF THE FILM.
The Right Place for Your Title
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The Right Place for Your Title
This is where your text starts. You can click here and start typing. Illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo.
This is where your text starts. You can click here and start typing. Rem aperiam eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit.
Quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet consectetur adipisci velit sed quia non numquam eius.
Director Research & Inspiration
Edgar Wright -
His signature technique is 'Fast-Cut Action Montage', this is most apparent in movies of his such as; Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver and Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Fast Cut Action Montages are a film editing technique that can be used to show a lot of information or to show dialogue between two characters in a quick time frame. Edgar Wright uses fast cut action montages to create a sense of suspense for the audience, due to the typical genres of his films these types of montages complement the movies well - it really helps to put the audience on the edge of their seat!
As you can see in the above there is a 2 minute long video including Edgar Wrights most iconic fast cuts within his films. This video perfectly sums up his editing and film making techniques.
TALK ABOUT WHY HIS EDITING STYLES INSPIRE ME AND HOW I WILL IMPLEMENT THIS INTO MY OWN WORK.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg's signature technique is known as 'God Lights', his most notable pieces of work are; ET, Indiana Jones Franchise and Jaws. Also known as volumetric lighting, it is used to add lighting effects to a rendered scene, it allows the viewer to see beams of light shining through the environment, sun rays can be seen hence the name 'God Lights'. Spielberg uses this technique in the iconic movie 'ET' on the legendary scene of ET flying over the moon in the bike basket.
Find one other director to analyse
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