Possible genre ideas for A2 short film

1. Possible genre ideas for A2 short film By Justin Gething

2. Psychological horror genre Positives .Easy to manipulate the shots, as they can be basic. .Hand held shots are easy to do, as a tripod and other equipment isn’t needed. . The genre has a very broad spectrum, so it’s relatively easy to think of a good storyline. Negatives . Difficult to find willing people to act in the film . The actors need to be believable and create convincing characters. . The time limit of 5 minutes could be too short to create a good psychological horror film. Film of a similar genre . Uninvited guest . The Shining . Scream .Saw . Psycho .Se7en . The exorcist

3. Uninvited Guest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uty2pJTHsU I have decided to analyse the trailer for the film ‘Uninvited guest’, which is a horror film directed by Tim Michael and is about an intruder plaguing a family home. The trailer begins with loud screeching non diegetic music, that sounds incredibly eerie and creepy. We see an image of tree leaves, the family home and a gate, which are shown fairly slowly. The camera is hand held and very unstable, which reflects the tension and suspense in the music. The music is ambient, as it fits the creepy setting. The gate unlatches very slowly and opens slowly. This reflects the timelessness of the situation which raises the tension further. The mise en scene becomes fairly normal, as we see a young boy leaving the house and walking towards the car. The lighting seems to brighten considerably, but the shakiness of the camera still occurs, which suggests danger may be round the corner. The camera quickly changes to a hooded figure approaching the gate of the house very slowly. The lighting is dim behind him, which adds tension and horror to this part of the scene. He is then seen walking through the house, with a close up following his legs as he approaches the camera. The music reaches it’s crescendo, before returning to a steady rate. We see the boy open the car and discover his mother dead inside. The boy then returns to the house rapidly and the editing becomes much quicker as he sees the hooded intruder and runs through the house. The camera shows many two shots of the boy inside and the hooded man outside, to show how close they are together and how much danger the boy is in. We then see a male enter the house and lock the door behind him. This signifies entrapment and the boy is isolated in the house with a dangerous intruder trying to find him. The hooded male slowly ascends the staircase. There is an extreme close up of his feet and we see him walking slowly, which builds the tension and suspense even further. This trailer shows elements of the thriller genre, as the viewer is left on the edge of their seat. The music then instantly begins to get louder as the screen is black. The mise en scene changes and we see a circular saw, which connotes danger and extreme violence. As a trailer, we are unsure what this has to do with the scene, but it’s obviously something negative, as the music is extremely tense. In the final part of the trailer, the music begins to soften and eventually stops. We finally see a mask on a workbench which the camera zooms in on. The hooded an then picks it up and exits the house promptly. This shows that he tries to conceal his identity and makes us fear him, as he is unrecognisable. We are unsure what h does in the house, but a good guess is that he murders the majority of the family and then quickly leaves. All of the techniques used in this trailer, like dim lighting, eerie loud music and extreme close ups, are all used to build suspense and make the viewer feel uneasy.

4. Comedy genre Positives .Easy to manipulate the shots, as they can be basic. .Hand held shots are easy to do, as a tripod and other equipment isn’t needed. . The genre has a very broad spectrum, so it’s relatively easy to think of a good storyline. Negatives . Difficult to find willing people to act in the film . The actors need to be believable and create convincing characters. . The time limit of 5 minutes could be too short to create a good psychological horror film. Film of a similar genre . Superbad . Shaun of the dead . Scream .Horrible bosses . Run, fatboy, run .The Hangover

5. The Hangover trailer analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzhlV6Dzvus • I have decided to analyse the trailer for the film trailer ‘The Hangover’, which is a comedy about 4 friends who attend a bachelor party in Las Vegas and follow the events of their hangover and what happened the night before… The trailer begins with Alan (Zach Galifianikis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) having a conversation about how Alan is unwelcomed at the bachelor party. We see medium close ups of them and the editing is fairly quick, as it changes between them. We then see Alan in his underpants, which is done to add a humour to the trailer and to suggest that he will centre around the majority of the huour later on in the film. Music then begins, which is upbeat and uplifting. The mise en scene quickly changes to them driving a car towards Las Vegas. We see the Las Vegas sign and them having a toast in the hotel room. There is then a sped up montage of the night’s events which are too quick to visualise. This signifies how quick their night was and how quickly it was over. The screen then turns black, to signify that time has passed. The mise en scene becomes more random, as we then see how chaotic and dilapidated the hotel room is, with objects like a chicken, a tiger, a baby, chairs on fire and furniture strewn all around the room. The use of totally unrelated and random objects add more comedy to the trailer, as they are bewildered how these objects even arrived. There are close ups of the characters misfortunes, as we see Stu (Ed Helms), with a missing tooth. This continues to add humour and a comical twist to the trailer, as it personalises the humour to him and we find the absence of his front tooth hilarious, as he has no recollection of how it occurred. • Throughout the remainder of the trailer, we are taken to various settings. There is a hospital area, where they were taken for being drunk, a stripper church and then a police station when the men get arrested. All of these different settings add further humour, as they are baffled as to why they came to these places the night before and are missing their friend Doug. Whilst in the police station, they are stunned by a stun gun, by some children and the police officers are enjoying it. This adds further humour to the trailer, as it’s so unorthodox and unconventional as to what’s happening. The remainder of the trailer is a montage of all that’s occurs later in the film. These scenes are often chaotic, dangerous and unrealistic, which make the viewer intrigued and astounded by the trailer and encourages them to want to watch the film. The editing throughout is fairly rapid, to try and fit in as much humour as possible. The same upbeat song is played throughout but made quieter when there is dialogue. The non diegetic music changes in the last 30 seconds of the trailer. Instrumental music begins, which reflects the Las Vegas atmosphere. The music is upbeat and ambient, as it reflects the light hearted content within the remainder of the trailer.Overall, the trailer is very good at influencing the viewer to watch the film.

6. Thriller genre Positives . Tension and suspense need to be created which can be easy to do. . If made well, it can attract a wide audience of all ages. . Negatives . Tension and suspense are the two main types of atmosphere that need to be present for the film to be a success. . It can be difficult to make a good thriller in 5 minutes, as the storyline is often fairly long and complex. . A good storyline can be difficult to think of. Films of a similar genre . Black Swan . Shutter Island . The Silence of the Lambs The Dark Knight . Saw . Disturbia

7. Shutter Island trailer analysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioxa3xnmmkw I have decided to analyse the trailer for the film ‘Shutter Island’, which is a psychological thriller starring LenonardoDiCaprio as U.S marshal Edward Daniels, who is sent to investigate a psychiatric facility known as ‘Shutter Island’, that is home to clinically insane residents. The trailer opens with non diegetic music that has a high tempo and creates tension and mystery. We see a long establishing shot of the island, to reveal how secluded the island is and the expanse of the ocean surrounding it. A voice over begins about the island and what it entails. The music instantly changes to a high pitched screech that resembles a scream and lasts for 5 seconds. The mise en scene of this part is reasonably frightening. We see objects like chains and some of the patients as well as a haunting image of a graveyard. There is ambient sound and along with the mise en scene, it creates fear and trepidation in the viewer. There are many close up shots of the marshals faces, to establish them as main characters but to show facial expressions and how they feel in their current surroundings. The editing throughout is very quick and along with showing the storyline, we see brief overlaps of haunting and frightening images placed between the narration. These are images like barbed wire and dark rooms. Additionally, we sometimes see dripping in the rooms and wind scattering paper around. These unnatural weather techniques, are done to make the viewer feel uneasy and anxious. Also, we see long shots of the lighthouse, which becomes a central location for the remainder of the trailer. It’s surrounded by choppy water, to reflect the suspense in the atmosphere. We often see flashbacks and it moves to previous scenes of the film. This is done to show what has happened and how it relates to what will happen. The flashbacks are fairly frightening and holds negative connotations. There are images like fire and flickering of lights, to make the reader fearful yet compelled to find out what will happen. There are occasional bird eye view/high angle shots of Edward Daniels when he realises the island’s residents are against him and he must survive on his own. These camera shots are done to show his isolation and detachment from the rest of the people there. As the trailer progresses, the sound is reaching a crescendo and we see clips of Edward Daniels running. This creates suspense and tension in the viewer. When the music stops, we see the long establishing shot of the island again, to show how horrific this location is and tempts the viewer to want to watch the film. After the screen goes black, there are 2 seconds of a hand appearing, which puts further terror into the viewer. The trailer is incredibly good for creating a tense and thrilling atmosphere and through the use of dim lighting, images with negative connotations and making the majority of the trailer fast-paced, this makes the urges the viewer to want the film. All these features suit the genre of a thriller perfectly, as a thriller is designed to excite and intrigue people and this trailer and film does this perfectly.