Title Research: The Dead Zone

This blog is title research on the movie 'The Dead Zone' from watchthetitles.com.

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

20 titles were displayed during the opening sequences of the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

Images of nature/ a town, which is most-likely the setting are prioritized.

What connotations do the images carry?

The images carry a mysterious connotation because the audience wonders the significance
of the images and may infer they are of the setting.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The thriller genre is reinforced by bringing a sense of mystery by playing mysterious-sounding
music and showing images in which the audience does not understand the significance of yet.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The movie creates a sense of mystery by showing the images and the music as well as titles.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appears to its target audience?

Strategies of suspense and mystery are used to attract audiences who crave the common
aspects of the thriller genre and who may of read Stephen King's novel, which the film is based on.

How has technology been used effectively? (Consider camera angles, transitions and editing
techniques)

The editing techniques are very appealing, with an outline of the title over the background images
appearing more and more as time goes on. There is also a fade out at the end of the title.
There also is a lot of motion during the images being displayed, but not in an unprofessional way.

Title Research: Seven

This blog is title research on the movie 'Seven' from watchthetitles.com

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

31 titles are displayed during the opening sequence to the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

Images of newspaper articles and what looks to be evidence of the article content is
prioritized in the opening scene.

What connotations do the images carry?

These images carry a negative connotation as well as suggests an eerie/creepy mood.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The genre is reinforced by playing intense and scary music. This creates a level of suspense
often seen in thriller movies. 

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

It creates this level of suspense and makes the audience wonder what is going on next. It
leads the audience to have to infer what the movie is about or what is going on.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appears to its target audience?

Strategies of suspense and intensity gets the audience nervous and intrigued, wondering
what will happen next. Looking at the intro, it uses common thriller conventions, which attract
usual audiences of thriller movies.

How has technology been used effectively? (Consider camera angles, transitions and editing
techniques)

This intro uses transitions in between titles well. The titles are able to be read easily when they
appear, and when they're not on screen, interesting flashes and glimpses of pictures appear that
make the audience want to keep watching.

Title Research: Split

This opening sequence was found on Art of the Titles.

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
I counted twenty five titles displayed during the opening sequences of the film. Almost at the beginning of the opening sequence, the main movie title showed up. Directly at the end was the director's name.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
Images of a girl being transported in a dark laboratory looking building are prioritized. Whenever a title shows up the screen cuts to black with the title.

What connotations do the images carry?
The images carry a dark feeling to them, which accurately represents what the thriller genre is like. It may make viewers feel unsettled and know that something is very off with what is happening.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The genre is reinforced through the dark feel of the outset through making the viewers have a strong sense that something is wrong. The lighting of it helps establish something is darker as well because of it not being very bright and being very yellow and dismal. The thriller genre relies on the feeling of fear or unease at times so this really emphasizes that.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
It makes the viewer want to know what is going on because not much is clear yet.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to it's target audience?
The film uses a popular themes of kidnapping in the genre which may appeal to the target audience since they are used to it. They also use common camera angles in the genre as well like low angles and close ups. The audio is creepy as well, so that also might draw it's target audience in because of the fear factor.

How has technology been used effectively?
The lighting of the shots convey the genre well and make the unsettling mood clear in the opening sequence. Also, camera shots convey the actions being done well. The cut to black and split up titles for the titles also makes the name "split" come into play.

Title Research: Zodiac

This opening sequence was found on Art of the Titles.

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
I counted thirty titles displayed during the opening sequences of the film. Around a quarter of the way through the opening sequence the main movie title showed up. Directly at the end was the director's name.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
Images of the man's drawing and work are mainly prioritized in the opening sequence though they show his morning schedule. He is in most of the shots. This emphasizes that he is one of the main characters.

What connotations do the images carry?
The images carry a lighthearted feel to them, which is a stark contrast to what the genre is like. It may make viewers wonder what will happen to make things change moods and become possibly darker.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The genre is reinforced through the lighthearted feel of the outset through making the viewers have a slight sense of unease. The lighting of it helps establish something is darker as well because of it not being very bright. The thriller genre relies on the feeling of being on edge so this emphasizes that.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
It introduces a new thing happening to the main character which leads the viewer to want to understand what happens next. The main character is told to go somewhere which leaves a bit of mystery.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to it's target audience?
The film uses a popular actor in the genre which may appeal to the target audience. They also use common camera angles in the genre as well. The song choice in the beginning was similar to other songs used in thriller movies as well, so that also might draw it's target audience in.

How has technology been used effectively?
The lighting of the shots effectively convey the genre and make the mood clear in the opening sequence. Also, the low angle and medium shots convey the actions being done well. The text used for the titles also set the genre well. Since the movie is about the zodiac killer, using magazine cutout like letters makes it appeal more to the theme.

Title Research: Watch the TItles

This site is called watchthetitles.com and we are looking at it to help us with research on titles. This site is going to help tremendously with the final task. The first two minutes of a film include a large amount of titles. Because of this, research is required to make sure that our titles are accurate. They also should follow the conventions of our genre (thriller). On this site, there are multiple categories of titles to watch. This includes films, TV shows, and video games. For this research, we will only be watching titles from movies in our genre. The site also includes a list of movie designers, as well as movie studios. The site also allows you to search for keywords. This helped a lot because we were able to search up our genre and find titles from that genre to watch. Before being able to look at the site ourselves, our teacher gave us a rundown on how to use this site (and another). Using the site is fairly simple- you can select the type of media that you want to watch the title sequence from. It then gives you a list of them (movies in this case) to browse through and watch. Overall, we believe that this site will prove very helpful in researching titles and with the final task.

Title Research: Art of the Title

One website we are using is Art of the Title. We are using this website to research title sequences of movies of the same genre as ours. They seem to be a great website for finding title sequences of recent movies. They have a variety of title sequences of all kinds of movies on this website, including ones which we plan on using to look at to research for our movie clip. The website has title sequences of different movies from comedy movies to horror movies. It even has some show's opening title sequences as well. It also includes lists of a lot of designers and studios that made the title sequences. One thing it has that is useful is articles about some of the title sequences. These are helpful in finding descriptions of the sequences. It also gives descriptions of each title sequence which is extremely helpful. When using the website, you can search for specific movies you want. Which turned out to be really quick and easy. Another thing it allows you to do is search keywords to find specific genres of opening titles. We found this to be even more helpful in finding good opening titles. Overall, this website will really help in our research.

Genre Research '47 Meters Down' (2017)

Camera angles:

One camera angle they use very often in the film is close ups.

In a lot of the scenes the characters are in small spaces and to show that, they used close ups.

They also used POV shots to show things from the character’s point of view and increase suspense.

They also used wide shots a lot, since most of the scenes are underwater and they needed to show all of the open space and sharks.

Costumes, lighting, actors, makeup, props, setting: 

The characters change between a few different costumes throughout the film.

At first they are wearing tropical clothes and bathing suits that you could wear to the beach.

They also wear dresses and party attire in the beginning of the movie.

For the majority of the movie they wore scuba gear and diving suits though.

The lighting at the beginning of the movie was bright and natural.

When they go underwater it gets darker and more blue tinted.

When something starts to go wrong it is usually darker or redder in color.

Throughout the film they wear no makeup since they go underwater and are at the beach for all of the scenes.

The props they use are the equipment on the boat and the diving equipment.

The setting is in the middle of the ocean in a cage underwater.

Sounds:

At the beginning, there is a song playing over the clips. This happens again whenever there is a montage or timeskip.

They also have water noises prevalent throughout the film.

Editing:

A lot of the film was one like event occurring, but there were many cuts between the shark and the divers.

Elements of thriller in the movie:

Suspense and mild body horror are shown in the movie. Those are also common in the thriller genre.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you liked?

I liked how the movie left you on edge for a lot of it and made you feel nervous for what would happen next.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you? 

I usually don’t like gore or body horror so I didn’t really enjoy the shark attack scenes.

Genre Research 'In the Tall Grass' (2019)

Camera angles:

Throughout the movie they use a variety of camera angles.
To start off, when the movie begins they use and aerial shot of the car and field of tall grass.
They also use a tracking shot of the car and a few close ups of the faces of two of the main characters.
They also use panning and tilting to show movement in the grass.
There are also a lot of low angles and medium shots used.

Costumes, lighting, actors, makeup, props, setting: 

The characters wear normal clothes, with the pregnant woman wearing a dress and everyone wearing casual attire.
The clothes get increasingly more dirty to show passage of time in the field.
The characters don’t ever change costumes because of it taking place in the same day.
The lighting is pretty natural, only changing when it turns to night.
Though when the characters see visions the lighting turns red and green to show it is unnatural.
The props the characters have are the things they brought with them into the grass.
For example the necklace the pregnant woman had on her that her ex gave her.
Other than that they didn’t have many props. The setting is a large neverending field of tall grass next to a church.

Sounds:

At the beginning of the movie they used non-diegetic and diegetic sound.
There was a song playing from the start of the movie that was revealed to be playing from the car’s radio.
In the background there was yelling from the people in the tall grass,
which would get louder or quieter to show the distance between the characters changing.
When it cut to the car the song became background noise.
The movie also relied on the sound of grass moving throughout it.
Some of the sounds were also just the sound of the characters walking in the mud.
They also played whispering and chanting whenever it reached a climatic point to show suspense.  

Editing:

One of the main things they used in the movie was blurring and focusing.
It would slowly reveal what was happening by slowly focusing on the subject in front of the camera, leaving you to want to know what was happening.
They also used slow motion on the grass in some parts to show the rain or blood dripping on it.
They also used a lot of cuts from scene to scene. 

Elements of thriller in the movie:

The movie kept the viewer in constant suspense and never really gave too much information, leaving those watching on edge.
There were a few points where you would think you understood something,
only to be revealed that something else entirely was going on which would surprise you.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you liked?

I enjoyed some of the suspense and getting to see if what I thought would happen would happen.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you? 

The constant shift from point to point left me a little confused so I didn’t particularly like that.

Genre Research 'Bird Box' (2018)

Camera angles:

 At the beginning of the movies there are plenty of aerial or crane shots.
It also has high angles and close-ups. In the middle of the movie, there are many eye level and low angles shots.
This resembles the beginning of the movie because there are also close-ups and medium close-ups.
At the end of the movie, there were extreme close-ups, medium close-ups, and eye-level shots.

Costumes, lighting, actors, makeup, props, setting: 

At the beginning of the movie, the actors are scared and extremely serious.
They are dressed in normal outfits suitable for cold weather. They are also wearing little to no makeup.
The lighting is a little dim but seems to portray natural lighting.  The main prop is the blindfold.
In this movie, they must wear their blindfolds at all times so it could also be considered part of their costumes.
The setting is in the woods and a fast-flowing river. In the middle of the movie, The actors are still very frightened and anxious.
The costumes are the same as before, and now there is natural lighting.
They are wearing little to no makeup, and the props consist of blindfolds and a box filled with birds.
The setting seems to be an abandoned medical center filled with empty beds.
At the end of the movie, the costumes, props, and makeup all remained the same.
The lighting is lighter than average lighting and the props are the box of birds and blindfolds.
The setting changed to a blind institute, and that is where the movie ends.
The actors are all happy because they have lived through a traumatic event, and are safe.

Sounds:

 At the beginning of the movie, there are voiceovers to bring the audience up to speed with part of the plot.
This is an example of a non-diegetic sound.
Throughout the movie, the audience can hear the water flowing in the river and the wind blowing in the trees.
In the middle of the movie, there is mainly dialogue from the actors.
There are also other sounds such as cans falling on the ground, and fishing lines being reeled inwards.
The water is in the background, along with the wind.
At the end of the movie, the sounds are mainly kids playing and actors talking.
This is diegetic sound because they are in a building full of people.

Editing:

 Throughout the movie, cutaways are frequently used.
There are also a few points of view scenes where the camera has a blindfold.
This gives the audience an idea of how the characters are feeling.

Elements of thriller in the movie:

 The movie had a few plot twists, and kept me on the edge of my seat.
It also had some interesting action scenes that were complimented by unique camera movements.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you liked?

 I enjoyed the flashback scenes. They allowed me to see the main character's reasoning behind her actions.
It gave the audience a well-rounded knowledge of the entire scenario.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you? 

Personally, I didn't like the plot twists. It made the plot more difficult to follow, but overall I enjoyed the movie.

Genre Research 'I Am Mother" (2019)

1. Common CAMS in the movie

-Beginning: Close-ups of the robot's face, medium close-ups, establishing shots.

-Middle: Tracking shots, Over the shoulder shots, Two shots, Three shots.

-End: Two shots, Three shots, Over the shoulder shots, Close ups.

2. Common CLAMPS in the movie

-Beginning: Robot, simple baby clothes and child clothes as the little girl grows up; Dim lighting, no makeup, baby toys as props, stuffed animals. Takes place in what looks like a secure bunker-like area. Little girl and robot only actors.

-Middle: New character, daughter has to operate on her, changes into surgical attire, still dim light but also some artificial white light. New actor, no makeup, surgery tools, book with faces, still in bunker.

-End: New actor as brother, more baby clothes, dim light, no makeup, shotgun and shells and axe as props, still in bunker but also outside of it.

3. Common Sounds in the movie

-Beginning: Diegetic sounds of metal and machines whirring as robot is assembled. Non-Diegetic sounds of the robot playing music for the child.

-Middle: Diegetic sounds of surgical equipment and non-diegetic sounds of talking.

-End: Diegetic sounds of the shotgun, bullet dropping, axe falling with non-diegetic sounds of dialogue.

4. Common Editing in the movie

-Beginning: quite a few Jump cuts.

-Middle: still Jump cuts.

-End: Jump cuts as well as Reverse cuts.

5. Elements of the genre in the movie

-Plot twists

-Action

-Suspense

-Dramatic

6. What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like?

-The plot twist at the end

-The action and suspense

7. What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you?

-Very dramatic at times

-Plot a little difficult to follow

-End dialogue was a bit confusing

Genre Research Decision

For the genre of our final task, we decided to go with thriller.
We chose this because we feel that it best represents what the task will be about.
It’s conventions and elements also go well with the aim of the task.
This genre and our task will most-likely use similar things like camera angles, mise-en-scene, and editing.
The thriller genre’s elements of plot twists and suspense will almost definitely be used in our final task.
We can do a lot of things related to the thriller genre and incorporate them into our final task.
I am satisfied with this genre choice for these reasons.

Genre Research Analysis

Our first genre that we are researching is action. One common camera angle is a long shot.
This is used to show things like stunts occurring and so the audience can get the big picture.
Over the shoulder shots are also used to show another character from one character's perspective.
In an action movie, the actors are usually people who are strong, or fit to play the characters.
There is also often a "damsel in distress" who may need to be saved in the movie as well as villains.
For makeup, there are usually a lot of makeup to depict wounds received during the film.
There are many different settings in action movies but they mostly take place in popular urban areas/cities.
The costumes depend on the character, but they are usually very noticeable if it is a character such as a superhero or even villain. 
During action movies, there are many cuts to things like the actors' faces.
There are also other cuts between scenes and things like flashbacks.
Elements of the action genre include suspense, action, fighting, and stunts.
Some examples of movies in this genre are Terminator Dark Fate and Avengers Endgame.
I like the action and suspense that is created from this genre. Something I dislike is the violence.

Our second genre that we are researching is comedy.
Some common camera angles used in comedy films are high and low angles.
These exaggerate the subject and can make for some good shots.
Hip-level shots are also sometimes used.
They can show whats going on in the scene well while keeping the subject the focus of the shot.
In comedy movies, a lot of the time it showcases everyday life made a little bit crazier.
The setting of these movies are usually everyday places like cities or small towns.
Characters normally have natural makeup and costumes or a more crazy look depending on the setting or plot of the movie.
The lighting of comedy movies is usually natural and fits the setting of the scene.
Some examples of comedy movies would be Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Anchorman, and Scary Movie.
They often have zooming incorporated into these films.
A lot of the time, the soundtracks of these movies will have hit songs of that year playing.
Some elements of the genre I like are how lighthearted they can be and how the movies can make you laugh.
Some elements I don't like are how the movies can be very subjective and if that style of humor isn't the kind you like, the humor will be lost.

Genre Research Powerpoint

In this project we had to research a genre of film and make a powerpoint on the different aspects of it. I chose the genre 'horror' by picking it on a piece of paper from a hat. From there I began researching all about it. I looked at the common lighting and camera angles in the genre first. The I researched common movement and mis en scene. Another thing I learned about the genre was the elements and different films in it. Horror commonly relies on fear and your imagination as basic elements in them. I also looked at the sounds they use in horror, which turned out to be really interesting. I also got to talk about what I liked and disliked about the genre. I found that I actually liked how immersive the genre could be and how creative the people who make them are.

Final Pitch Ideas Blog

One pitch we decided to go with was the action horror pitch. In this pitch, a girl's father goes missing, and as she starts searching for him, strange things begin to occur in her small town. The other pitch idea we decided on was the action pitch. In this pitch, being able to genetically modify humans has emerged and a girl tries to survive in a world where she isn't viewed as normal. We decided not to go with the idea of a movie where a girl goes to meet her online friend and it turns out her friend isn't who they seem. We narrowed this list down by making a pros and cons list. The second pitch had the most cons and didn't seem specific enough to turn into a two minute movie clip. We found that the idea would involve a lot of texts being shown on screen causing the viewer to have to read a lot more than should be necessary. Although it would be easy to film, it wouldn't be creative enough. The other two pitches had a lot more we could do with them and gave us more creative freedom.

The first pitch we decided on would be the horror pitch. This would be a good idea for multiple reasons. We had a lot of ideas of what to do with the filming of it. We also found that it would be a lot of fun to film because we enjoyed the concept. It also wouldn't be to complicated to film because a lot of the settings we would use would be accessible and ideal to film in. It would also be easy to show the plot through the movie clip unlike the pitch we decided not to do. The ending of the clip would also be definite but could also seem like there is more to it. It would leave the viewers wondering what else could happen after and make them intrigued and want to see more. The only con we had about this pitch would be that it would be a lot to explain in two minutes. This is because there is a lot of plot to explain, though overall it wouldn't be too hard to explain.

The second pitch we decided on was the action pitch.  This film, like the first one we decided to go with, would be fun to film. This idea is also unique. This film would also have an easy "ending", or one where it would be able to be added on to. This film would also be easy to understand what's going on. A con of this film would be the amount of special effects. this would be a problem, because we couldn't edit them in, so we would have to make physical ones during the film. There also isn't a lot that would be going on and a hard to understand backstory. Out of all the pitches, we decided to go with the one about the father going missing. This had the least amount of cons and is very developed by my partner and I.