Christian Metz

In Metz book Language And Cinema he explored development of genre film, and suggested genres pass through four phases:

1. Experimental- The phase in which films experimented and were creative with genres.
2.The Classic- The phase in which a genre has developed conventions, often the most successful period.
3.The Parody- These films usually mock the genre, exaggerating its conventions for humour.
4. The Deconstruction-The is a film which copies conventions of different genres, creating a new sub-genre. Se7en is an example of this becaue it is a detective thriller.

The pitch

When deciding on a film idea, my group initially wanted to do a horror. This is because it was our favourite genre, and it would be the funnest to do. We had a good understanding of typical horror conventions, which we wanted to follow. While planning the production, we had various different ideas and plots:

Possession- A young girl/ boy becomes possessed by an evil spirit.

Ghosts-
Haunted House/building- A group of teenager go into a haunted building


Eventually the group decided to focus on spirits, and contacting with the dead. Although spirits are a common theme in horros, ouiji boards are rarely used in plots.In the film a group of teenager find an ouiji board, and in using it contact evil spirits.
There were three main characters:

Jagdish- She played the role of the girl who was opposed to contacting the dead. Often in horrors this character survivors, another convention we copied.

Sam- He played the character of the dead boys brother, owning the board. Although his dialogue was brief, he was a crucial character in the plot.

Emma- I played the girl who obligued her friends to use the board, and inevitably became possessed.

Preliminary Task

I did the preliminary task with two girls from my media class. In it we showed me walking into a room, and passing an object to the girl. The camera filmed a shot of me opening the door, and the walking into the room. This was to demonstrate our understanding of the 180 degree rule, match on action, and shot reverse shot. While this task helped our knowledge of film making rules, it also gave us practice filming for our production.

180 Degree Rule

The 180 degree rule is an imaginary line in film making, which the camera should not cross. It is the 180 degree arc in which the camera may be positioned. The two characters must have direct eye line, and if the camera is to cross the arc, the characters must switch places. The rule is important during dialogue, or action scenes for the audience to understand. If the rule is broken it looks disorientated, and confuses the audience, although some film makers do it intentionally. The 180 degree rule is an essential part of film making and continuity editing.

Mood Board- Horrors

The horror genre is based on provoking fear and* phobias. They are majorly popular worldwide, and can often be controversial. Horrors audience ranges from adolescence to adults, but most horrors are rated 18.Horrors strive on exciting and shocking the viewer by building tension, and creating fear. Horrors plots typically involve the supernatural, serial killers, or gore. Death and the afterlife are common themes, simply because it is the unknown. The typical colours of horrors are grey, black, and blood red.

 As an genre, horrors have various stereotypes that most films *. Most horrors focus on the paranormal, because this is a fear that a lot of people have. The main characters are often serial killers,* Many horrors use groups of adolescence, in which their carelessness causes their fate. Children are often used because of their vulnerability, adding to the shock of the viewer. Many films include haunted houses or buildings, although this plot is fairly overused.

The sub-genre gore is becoming increasingly popular, and is now a main part of horror. These films such as Saw and hostel * on the emotion of repulsion and disgust. Unfortunately some gore-films have simple plots, and focus more on graphic scenes, then a complex storyline.

Horrors are usually set in the American Suburbs, because this relates to their target audience.

Mood Board- Thrillers

*

Mood Board- Romantic Comedies

Romantic comedies are steriotypically love stories with humorous, entertaining plots. Typically they have a happy ending, although some films have broke this convention.
Romantic comedies are often in the perspective of a woman, because of their predominantly female audience. The general plot involves two protagonists overcoming an obstacle or, and usually reuniting.
Setting
Like other genres film, most romantic comedies are based in America. But because of their low budgets, british...
The colours are bright, and typically colour like red, and pink; which have connotations of love.
The music is changes from cheerful and slow,ambient music.
Many things have changed in romantic comedies, one of them being the roles of women. Women are no longer potrayed as vunerable and weak, or being saved by a male. The protaganist is often a business women, or a strongminded character. The lead male role is very steriotypical, usually using a tall, white man with dark hair*