Genre Research

Genres: Drama and Horror

    As soon as the Film Opening Portfolio project was introduced these genres came into mind. I've always loved the way films have the ability to create emotions in their audiences. Whether its fear, love, sadness, or joy I want to be able to transmit feelings through what I create.

Drama

    Drama films, in the simplest of terms, are serious stories that center themselves around completely plausible events. These TV shows and movies demonstrate one of these 3 conflicts: character vs. character, character vs. self, and character vs. external conflict. Ultimately the resolution of drama productions usually resolves in character development and growth. Some more specific characteristics of the genre include copious cathartic moments in the narrative, and the objective of classifying complex human emotions.

    The emotion I personally would want to convey through this genre would be unease or empathy. I want for the audience to feel uncomfortable when they see the film opening but feel as though they need to keep watching simply because they can't leave in a cliffhanger. It would include elements of isolation in people's everyday lives and how it can become overwhelming, since it is a very real emotion most people face often.

(2000 Pay It Foward directed by Mimi Leder)

In the case of Pay It Foward this is a romantic drama about a boy who wants to help his teacher make the world a better place. This film causes a rollercoaster of emotions, especially for me. After watching it the first time I cried for hours distraught at how Leder could possibly think is was okay to end such a wholesome film so tragically, I felt truly robbed of the happy ending. Then, I realized the reason the movie was so good is because of its authenticity and that's why it has remained so relevant in my mind to this day. 
    For the majority of the film the audience is captivated by this unlikely love story and how sensible everything comes to be all thanks to Trevor McKinney. Throughout the production I got to see why he is the way he is, and it caused me to have a strong sense of empathy for him and I felt pride when I saw how motivated he finally was. Ultimately, he is murdered after everything comes together and everyone is happy in a highly probable scenario, at which point the film ends.

Horror

    Horror films, have the singular objective of... You guessed it! Scaring people. These stories aim to get adrenaline coursing through audiences' bodies keeping them on edge and can be interpreted in different ways.  For example, a common audience is sensation-seekers that turn to horror films to help them induce fear. "Horror" is a part of every culture because they each have their stories and fear which help to rationalize why it is such a universal genre. Every horror film deals with at least one of these elements, the supernatural, death, witchcraft, after life, evil, powers, and other unexplainable occurrences.

    I'm mainly interested in the thrill aspect of horror and definitely aim to keep my audience on edge. I would like to incorporate unexplainable elements, death, as well as hints of supernatural activity. I don't love the gore aspect of the genre so my film would not be gruesome or display particularly off-putting scenes. I do however want to make this film opening very unique, which might be a challenge since so many horror films have already been made, since my goal is to lure the audience in and encourage them to search for similar content afterwards.

(1963 The Haunting directed by Robert Wise)

    In the case of The Haunting this horror movie is centered around the thrill characteristic of the genre and therefore can serve as a good reference for what I would want to accomplish. In the film the audience can see there are clear hints to paranormal activity as well as lots of death. In the film Dr. John Markway assembles a team of experts to try and decipher is the Hill House is in fact haunted.

    This production keeps people on edge by not clarifying if the house truly is haunted but instead listing events that could have merely been coincidental. Like for example, the strange and tragic deaths all the past owners of the Hill House have met.