Research into Horror opening scene

 

I will be researching the Horror genre. In order to do this I have decided to analyse the opening scene from the horror movie IT (2017), made by Warner Bros. Studios, directed by Andy Muchetti. The main cast includes Bill Skarsgard, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis and Jaeden Martell.

From the narrative given to us, we can expect the genre will be horror, this is because there is a clear representation of genre, we, as the audience, know that the clown in the sewers, Pennywise, is the antagonist and murderous, there is a mention of the older brother, so we understand that the clown may be trying to kill people and the brother will be imperative to the victory against the murderous clown. The target audience for the film is people over 18 year old. Young people, no specification of gender, but since it is horror, would have an already existing audience.

Besides the shot-reverse-shots in dialogue, the shots are long and leave a lot of negative space in frame, which is a classic convention used in horror to create tension. There is also eerie high-pitched non-diabetic music which is in a minor key, and there is use of pathetic fallacy as the weather is pouring rain. Georgie hurts himself midway through the scene which foreshadows his venerability and is further established because he is continuously filmed from a high angle.

 

Pennywise - The use of high camera angles on Pennywise subverts our expectation, which makes it creepier as the audience knows that the clown is the antagonist. The shadows over his face and body hides his identity from the audience which creates distrust in the character, and makes him appear cynical and mysterious. The lack of diabetic circus music as the clown talks about it further creates the spine-chilling idea that the clown isn’t sane, and is putting the young boy, Georgie, in danger.

Brother - The brother is only seen briefly, but as the audience can infer, he will be vital to the plot because he is then mentioned again in dialogue, he is filmed from a higher angle than his brother, showing his protective gaze over him and the change in lighting, from the warm lighting, to the blue, cold lighting of the outside. Were given the idea that he and Georgie are very connected through the use of props, and the walk-in-talkies which allow them to communicate. 

Georgie - Georgie immediately stands out in his surroundings because his bright yellow coat contrasts the blue lighting and setting and the bright red used in Pennywise’s makeup. This makes him vulnerable, because he can’t blend into his surroundings. 

I think this scene does a fantastic job of showcasing a seemingly innocent scene and making it chillingly creepy through non-diegetic music and a complex soundscape. The long shot durations and use of tracking shots and camera angles creates a sense of negative space and subverts out expectations of what horror would do, building suspense within the scene. The shot-reverse shots in dialogue are made creepy through the use of highlights and shadows, hiding things from the views of the audience. The sound effects used to jump scare the audience, which helps create the fear meant to be perpetuated by the genre.

What is Genre?

    Genre is the main category assigned to a given film. It is used to give the audience expectations and help the institution to appeal to certain audiences.

   Sub-Genre further categorizes a film within a genre, due to the wide variety of film made annually. 

    A Hybrid Genre is the mix between two of the 5 genres, these movies often appeal to a wider audience and are therefore beneficial to institutions.

Action:

Things associated with Action:

• Fast-paced chase scenes
• Stunts, and physical activity
• Battles, fight scenes
• Basic Antagonist/Protagonist plotline
• Lots of High Energy
• Incredibly quick Impact scenes
• Overarching objective

Horror:

Things associated with Horror:

• Dark tones and shadows/night
• Tense music
• Fear of the unknown/ death/ monsters
• Suspense

Thriller:

Things associated with Thriller:

• Conspiracy
• Extremely high tension
• Chase/ pursuit scenes
• Fear of the unknown
• Danger

Romance:

Things associated with Romance:

• Two Protagonists
• Stereotypical Cliches
• High emotion and tension
• Romantic journey, Eg: Colleagues to Dating
• Romantic, affectionate involvement of the two protagonists 
• Love at “First sight”

Western:

Things associated with Western:

• Wilderness, and The Barbaric
• Cowboys 
• Native Americans
• Clear Protagonists and Antagonists
• Criminals, Outlaws, vs. The Law
• References to the American Civil War
• Texas, and the American South

SciFi:

Things associated with SciFi:

• Space, Alien worlds
• The Future, time travel
• Strange science creations
• Exploration
• The supernatural
• Off-Planet settings

Film Industry Research

 

Warner Bros.

The company was founded by four Brothers in 1923; Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Samuel Warner, and Jack Warner

They are based in Burbank, California, however, they also have headquarters in Leavesden, Watford, UK.

Warner Bros. Is a subsidiary of the larger conglomerate, Warner Media, which is owned by AT&T, other subsidiaries include, DC comics and HBO. This is beneficial to them because they already own the rights to the music and characters they would like to film, and they can create movies with an already existing fan base. It has been running for 97 years, since 1923.

Biggest box office successes:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

2. Aquaman 

3. The Dark Knight Rises

4. Joker

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The budget of the studios top 3 highest-grossing films last year:

1. Joker - 55 million dollars 

2. IT: Chapter Two - 79 million dollars

3. Pokemon: Detective Pikachu - 150 million dollars 

New films:

Pre-Production: 21

Production: 7

Post-Production: 1

Big institutions have the ability to secure tent pole films and merchandise, they are also able to produce movies that are a part of a pre-existing fan base. They a guaranteed to do well with those films and therefore are able to make more films quickly and with larger budgets, so their locations and special effects will be of top quality.

BELSTONE

The studio was founded by Finn Cardigan Bruce in 2012. They develop, finance, and produce their own international films. 

They are based in London England and have no other studios.

Finn Cardigan Bruce is the CEO of the company and it is not a subsidary or a conglomerate, it is run independently. This means the company has much more control and can be more efficient. It has been running for 8 years, since 2012.

Biggest box office successes:

- Tank 432

The budget of the studios top 3 highest-grossing films last year:

- Tank 432- 1 million

- Tucked - 300,000 thousand - 600,000 thousand

Main actors or directors:

- Finn Cardigan Bruce 

- Nick Gillespie

- Jennifer Handrolf

- Ben Wheatley

New films:

- Pre-Production: 5

- Production: 0

- Post-Production: 2

The advantage of a small institution is that they have more creative freedom to explore interesting topics and risks, without the audience's preconceived expectations from a franchise or branding.

Back to the Future Scene Analysis

 

This is a presentation about my analysis of a scene from Back to the Future.

Here's the clip:

Mis-en-scene of Harry-Potter film poster

MOVIE POSTER REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE 

By: Adrianna Reyes 

 

The poster I have decided to review is for the first “Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone”. This poster makes use of mise-en-scene to connote the mysterious tone, fantastical setting, magic wizardry, and perhaps stereotypical characters. 

 

There are some clear indicators of the genre and theme of the film, for example, the witches' hat, owl, the cloaks everyone wears, and the candles floating mid-air below a castle. The man mid-left, Dumbledore, uses clear symbolism to show his character. He is wearing a matching wizard's cap and cloak, he has long grey hair and a long grey beard. We can immediately recognize him as a wizard, we can also make the assumption that he is wise, due to his age, and the fact he wears glasses which is indicative of intelligence. 

 We can tell who the main character is because he is the biggest person on the poster. We can infer that Harry Potter, due to the title in the center of the poster. We know his importance due to the fact his face isn’t shadowed or covered, we can clearly see his facial expression. When this movie poster came out, Harry Potter was already an iconic franchise, so Harry Potter’s scar and glasses are iconic symbolism in society already, the advertisements for the first film of the highly popular book series use this to their advantage. The man behind him, Hagrid, is placed over Harry’s right shoulder, which symbolizes him as the kind of “Guardian angel” character. His facial expression looks as if he would like us to follow him into the movie. He will clearly be a protector or guardian to the main character. The young girl in the left-hand corner, Hermione, carries books. This is a clear stereotype of a teacher’s pet-type character. Her hair isn’t done up, and she isn’t overdressed, so the audience doesn’t get the impression she’s the love interest or a damsel in distress. She is right behind a very similar character, Ron, and their body language showcases the contrast in their characters. Ron is displayed as a form of comic relief and is one of the only characters without an incredibly intense facial expression. Ron stood facing the front, shrugging with a smirk. We already get the idea that he’s the funny side character. We also get an idea of the relationship between him and Hermione due to their proximity to one another and similar age. They are the closest together and we, as the audience, understand they will be friends, however very different characters with a unique dynamic. The man at the bottom of the poster, Snape, is displayed as the antagonist. His costume is black and monotone, so we can't see much of him. He scowls towards the front, we immediately distrust and dislike him. He holds his hand over his cloak as if to hide something from us, which adds tension and mystery to the poster. 

Through the character’s eye lines, we can make assumptions about the plot. The entire cast is looking forward, facing us. However, the lead, Harry Potter, is looking away from everyone else, which could imply he sees something nobody else sees. This makes him special. It makes him the recognizable and unmistakable hero of the plot, we know that the plot will revolve around him and his singular ability to do something no one else can.  

The heavy use of blue, which is often used in science fiction, versus green or orange prevents the poster from looking like a Halloween movie. It also has a heightening effect that makes the characters look like they are in the clouds above the real world, which adds to the fantastical, mystery tone. There is lots of contrast between dark and light, with the main colors being blue, red, yellow, white, and black. The main three colors are the primary colors. They contrast each other and intensify the shadows and brighten the highlights. The title is a shining yellow-gold color that completely stands out from the dark blues, reds, and browns in the rest of the poster, it is also completely center, catching your attention. 

 

We can see that this movie takes place in some sort of otherworldly place. The castle, dimly lit in the upper left corner of the image; symbolizes gothic fantasy. There’s a forest in the background, which commonly has connotations of the unknown and unsafe, the forest keeps things hidden which adds to the overarching tone of the poster itself. It’s set in the night time which is mysterious because the night is meant to hide things, the idea that this film takes place in a world that isn’t in “broad daylight” adds to the mystery and Fantasy genre. The train is also quintessentially British. The children are wearing what’s known as British school children’s uniform, minus the cloaks, which are clearly not standard English uniforms but instead, make them fit in better with the adults, who all look like wizards and witches themselves. The entire cast is caucasian, and while this isn’t classically British, it means this is probably taking place somewhere in Westen European countries. 

  

 

How tension is created in "Hailey Place"

 Tegan and I analysed an opening scene from past Hurtwood students. The scene is entitled “Hailey Place”

Movie review

 Clueless Movie Review – Adrianna Reyes

 

Clueless, released in 1995 by Paramount Pictures, was directed by Amy Heckerling (Look who’s Talking, Red Oaks), follows the story of Cher (Alicia Silverstone), a materialistic teen from Beverly Hills. Other cast members include Paul Rudd playing Josh, Stacey Dash playing Dionne, and Brittany Murphy as Tai. This movie, loosely based-off Jane Austen’s “Emma”, is a classic 90’s chic-flick, and an easy watch. I remember being ten, and watching this movie for the first time, and wishing for a outfit-making machine in my closet, just like Cher herself in the opening scene. I was transfixed by the vintage 90’s style and aesthetic. The costuming in this movie was superb, and incredibly faithful to the 90’s fashion of the time. Costume designer Mona May wanted the costumes to be as authentic as possible, saying she wanted the girls to look like “mall rats” not models. The budget for the costuming, therefore was relatively small for a Blockbuster film of the time, so her 63 outfits only cost 200,000, including the iconic Calvin Klein dress, which sold out in stores everywhere soon after the release of the film. The films writers also sat in classes at Beverly Hills high, to take inspiration from the students. 

 

The movie’s plot line is relatively predictable, however not dull on overdone: it is riddled with cliches, but the writers were aware of this fact, and were able to poke-fun at the superficiality of Beverly Hills youth, which is still relevant today. Being from California myself, I was extremely familiar with the tropes the character’s portrayed. Clueless manages to be delightfully clever, and although not an incredibly thought provoking watch, the characters show clear development throughout the film. This is one of the few teen blockbuster movies I’ve seen with a well done first person narraration.

 

Cher herself is an incredibly likeable, fun character, that the audience is able to support throughout the whole film. It’s refreshing to be presented with a popular character, who is clearly self-absorbed, and isn’t cruel to everyone else; she’s not this overdone “Mean – girl” trope. She maintains this quirky innocence that makes her accessible to the audience. She plays into the “dumb blonde” cliché without thoughtless or unintelligent, as shown in the scene were she negotiates all her grades higher.

 

Clueless in-full, is a poster movie for 90’s blockbusters, and is an easy watch, full of entertaining characters, fashion, and design.