Showing posts with label Genre Research. Show all posts

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Don't Even Joke Lad

I refuse to go down like last year. I really want to be proud of our final result, so I'm choosing to prioritize this project fully, especially the planning part. And by that, I mean that we already have a (very tentative) idea. I'll just copy and paste my incoherent ramblings that I wrote at like 1 am when the idea came to me. This is a very general outline of an idea and some themes; there's still a lot of tweaking left to do. But here it is:
Told through a series of voice recordings.
We open on a woman seated. Her face is not visible. The room is dim, with messy drawing of anatomy plastered of the walls. The woman is holding a voice recording device in her hand. She presses play.
Fade to black

“Day one of consciousness”
Fade up from black

We open on a robot-like man (we’ll call him The Subject). He examines the patches of metal on his body as a voiceover explains what is going on. The population of the human race is dwindling, a result of the climate crisis, low birth rates, and wars. A group of rogue scientists have decided to experiment with playing God. They want to test if Artificial Intelligence can go beyond impersonating humanity. They created a dozen or so cybernetic organisms with an implanted program that gradually improves their software, including the eventual understanding of emotions. The Subject goes through a checklist of possible symptoms he may be experiencing before ending the first recording.

Fade

The woman plays the next recording

Fade

Day 8

We open back on the man, his features seeming a bit more human, but mannerisms still lacking. He is seated intently watching television with a clipboard on his lap. The screen shows a home video of a couple in the rain. These organisms will be exposed to an assigned human for 3 months, including exposure to videos of them, a physical body modelled after them, and the eventual implantation of their memories (they are not aware of this last part and also this human is dead but their family have volunteer their body and memories for research.)

On voice over, he explains that the scientists give him the tapes to watch, as well as films, artwork, literature. He is to report his feelings on it. The video seems to elicit no emotional response from him, rather he comments on the dangers of humans being out in the rain and the possibility of illness. His response is still very robotic, lacking very little traces of humanity. He routinely goes through the list of symptoms again.

Day 26

The subject, looking more and more human, rewinds through the home video over and over again. Through the voice report, he explains that he was given a book to read, Love in the Time of Cholera. The researchers are trying to introduce him to the concept of love. He thinks he may be understanding Florentino’s pursuit. He even relates to the character a little. He’s been watching the home video a lot lately. The woman in it looks so familiar.

Day 42

The procedure takes a turn for the worse. Although the Subject has completely human features, he is deteriorating. His cheeks are hollow and his eyes sunken, he looks unhealthy. He explains that for the last two days, he has been seeing the woman from the videos. Like little videos in his mind. The researchers have explained to him that these are called memories. He doesn’t understand how he can have memories of something he never experienced.

Day 58

The room where the Subject has been secluded in is a mess. The walls are filled with images and drawings of humans. The Subject, again, is seated towards the television screen. He watched (insert romance film here) recently. He begins to become curious to how love and being loved feels like. The woman plagues his thoughts and memories, even appearing in his dreams. Her image accompanied with a tinge of longing and emotion that he can’t quite comprehend, but he feels it anyway.

Day 65

The Subject is resentful. He hates the humans for afflicting him with these feelings. For introducing him to all the wonderful and horrific feelings that make up a human’s life, and cursing him from ever being able to fully understand or experience them. In a furious rage, he rips the drawing and papers off of the wall, and starts clawing at his metallic exterior.

Fade to black

Fade up from black to the woman who was seated at the beginning with the voice recorder device. The camera pans up to reveal that she is the woman from the home videos. She walks towards the corner of the room, where The subject is slumped over. His eyes are open but he is not moving, his body is surrounded by wires and cables protruding from him.

So yeah. There's a lot here that doesn't make sense. I'm aware. But don't worry. We're working on all that. Just wanted to throw our general idea on here early so the next couple posts will make sense. I'm like so scared of putting it on here because it really solidifies it in a way...But I'm a little side-tracked. This blog post was originally supposed to be a genre research post and I still wanna do that so I don't have to do it later. I'll talk about little more about the idea for the next post.

How We Got to Sci-Fi

When I first read the initial outline to my parents, they were pretty shocked at me going with the sci-fi genre. And I'll admit that I was a little shocked too. I've never been the biggest fan of science fiction films, there's a handful that I find to be really good but overall I've never felt particularly drawn to them. But I realized that when discussing more short-form types of media, I definitely gravitate towards sci-fi. I love reading short story collections, and I often buy either sci-fi or horror collections (one of my favorite collection is Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang). And the idea itself was born from my favorite episode of Love Death + Robots. I guess it makes sense why my idea seems to fit more of a book format than a film one. I have to try to adapt the idea to film the best I can, and the only way to do that is to familiarize myself with the genre.

History

While we often relate science fiction to flying cars and robots, the genre goes much further back in time. The Greeks and Romans created all kinds of stories about technologically advanced cities like Atlantis. Eventually, science fiction was picked up by authors like Mary Shelley and H.G. Wells, and cemented itself as a major subgenre in literature.

And of course, A Trip to the Moon, which many people seem to think was the first film (it wasn't), was science fiction. Pretty innovative for its time of 1902. Not too long later came Metropolis which was probably the first feature-length science fiction film back in 1927, but its hard to tell considering how much is now lost. The 50s saw a burst of the genre, probably reflective of the times and fears following the war. And some of the most iconic films of the genre were made from the 60s to the 90s. Films of these times were both indicative of what was going on in the world, and speculative of our future. Nowadays, the subgenre has begun to branch off and merge into other genres. There's romance sci-fi films, there's horror sci-fi films, there's probably other ones that I'm forgetting. What I'm trying to say is that there's practically an unlimited world of possibilities for this genre.

Subgenre

Terminator

Within the sci-fi genre there's like a tonnnn of subgenre. Here are a couple:

Science Fantasy - Ex. Star Trek

Apocalyptic/Post Apocalyptic - Ex. Mad Max: Fury Road

Alien Invasion - Ex. Arrival

Cyberpunk - Blade Runner

Time Travel - Ex. 12 Monkeys

Parallel World/dimensions - Ex. Coherence

Robot Fiction - Ex. The Terminator ***

Dystopian Future - Ex. The Hunger Games

Space Western - Ex. Star Wars

Space Opera - Ex. The Fifth Element

Steampunk - Ex. The Prestige

I emphasized the robot fiction genre since its closest to our idea.

Tropes

The Martian

Final thing I researched about the genre are common tropes and conventions

Themes and tropes:

- I found that isolation is a theme that is often explored in this genre. In some cases, like the movies Gravity and The Martian, the loneliness is surrounding the vastness of space. In others, isolation comes as a result of the ever-advancing technology of the time.

- Another common trope is how the advancement of technology, particularly artificial intelligence, affects humanity. This one is pretty relevant to me

- Oppression and totalitarianism is very, very common, especially amongst dystopian science fiction stories, Examples of this would be 1984 and Brazil.

- Colonization and expansion is explored in films like Avatar and Starship Troopers.

- Human nature and identity

Conventions

- Futuristic settings

- Machines or technologies as characters

- Post apocalyptic or dystopian future

- Establishing shots to introduce the time and world

Friday, November 3, 2023

What Makes Horror Horror?

Horror films take an audience’s worst fears and bring them to life. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes horror as, “painful and intense fear, dread, and dismay”. Despite the nightmare-inducing stories, the horror genre remains one of the most popular both among audiences and filmmakers.

A Little History

The horror genre of film arises from old folklore and mythology. Georges Méliès’ short film, The Haunted Castle (1896), which featured floating ghosts and skeletons, shocked audiences at the time, and is now considered to be the first piece of horror put to film. German Expressionist films of the 1920s, which focused more on the filmmaker’s aesthetic expression rather than realism and relied heavily on production design, paved the way for what was known as the “Golden Age of Horror” in Hollywood. The 1930s saw a surge of horror films (a lot of which were creature features produced by Universal Pictures). Early Hollywood horror cinema was highly influenced by classic nineteenth-century Gothic fiction literature. Audiences flocked to see movies such as Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). With the 1940s and 50s came a wave of psychological thrillers, a prominent name of that time being Alfred Hitchcock. The 60s and 70s introduced supernatural aspects to the genre, and became much bloodier. Finally, slasher films in the 80s and 90s ushered in a new subgenre of satirical horror. Present day horror, especially with the rise of studios like A24, has seen more and more original and reflective stories from visionaries such as Jordan Peele, Julia Ducournau, and Ari Aster.

Content

It's hard to pinpoint specific content that makes up the horror genre because it's so incredibly diverse. There are dozens of subgenres that make up the horror umbrella: supernatural, psychological, creature/monster, folk, giallo, slasher, gore, found footage, just to name a few. Although there are so many genres, horror films typically feature some sort of paranormal or supernatural aspect, like ghosts, many are set in haunted houses (the film 1408, however, is set in a haunted hotel), and the main character is in some sort of danger. They are characterized by extreme violence, not shying away from showing some blood. Main antagonists are also found in most horror movies, which the heroic protagonist has to defeat. Another common stereotype of the horror genre is the "final girl". This woman is usually the only one to survive the string of killings, although she suffers a great deal by that point. Older slashers are now criticized by people who claim that the "final girl" stereotype is rooted in misogyny and were used by male directors as an excuse to torture women.

Laurie from Halloween is one of the most famous final girls.

To scare audiences, horror films rely on suspense. A good horror film builds up suspense through foreshadowing. Filmmakers use cues and symbols that audiences recognize to foreshadow what is to come. For example, objects disappearing or mysteriously moving is used in almost every paranormal film. Without the proper environment and build-up, scares can feel cheap.

Production Techniques

Horror films use specific techniques to elicit emotional fear responses from the audience. We scream and cover our eyes while watching horror films because we as viewers have been conditioned to react based on these techniques.

Sound

The simple usage of sound can be used to create a suspenseful environment or to carry out an effective jumpscare. Horror movie soundtracks typically use dissonant chords to (subconsciously) have the audience at the edge of their seat. Many composers create leitmotifs to represent characters, these sound motifs let viewers know that danger is imminent. John Williams’ Main Title Theme from Jaws (1975) is one of the most popular examples of this. Filmmakers also often depend on stings for jumpscares, which shock an unsuspecting audience. In fact, once the volume of horror films is muted, it loses most of its shock factor. Lastly, certain subgenres of film, such as body horror and gore/splatter films, rely heavily on foley and SFX to nauseate audiences. This scene from Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake is a great example of how sound can be used to disgust viewers.

Cinematography and Production Design

Horror films are known for being dark, and not just in their subject matter. Since most horror films are set during the night, the color palette is usually dark.

Color pallet of 2016's The Witch

This darker color and lighting obscures a lot of the camera's view, creating a foreboding feeling. The use of shadows and silhouettes are also a very common way for horror films to draw out suspense, a technique that got popularized primarily by Hitchcock’s films. Horror films use unconventional camera angles and composition. In fact, many horror directors utilize something known as negative space. Negative space is usually the empty space of a shot that surrounds the subject. Horror films use this technique to play with the audience’s imagination (examples: Psycho and Insidious). Director Mike Flanagan is known for using the negative space of his shots to hide ghosts or other figures in the background. Tracking shots and pans are used to create a sense of dread and anticipation (and many times end with a jumpscare).

Marketing

Because the target age of horror films ranges from late teens to young adults, the marketing steers towards a more mature depiction of the film. Trailers, usually underscored by dramatic covers of popular songs to attract viewers, include the most shocking scene of the films. Most horror posters feature the main villain’s face or mask as the cover. Body parts are also really popular on horror posters. The posters are typically dark and bloody with disturbing images. Because of the Halloween season, most horror films are released in an October date; however, horror films also perform very well during summer release date (while not as big a summer blockbusters released this year like Barbie, Talk to Me, made on a budget of just $4.5 million, ended grossing way over ten times its budget).

Screenshot of the Blair Witch Project website made by the directors.

A particularly groundbreaking marketing case in the horror genre was the Blair Witch Project (1999). Because of its genius marketing strategy, an indie found footage film (a genre that was practically new in the 90s), made on a budget of just $35,000, became one of the highest grossing horror films of its time. Because this was so early in the internet’s history, many consider Blair Witch to have been the first film to mass market through the internet. The directors of the film, Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, created a fictional legend, The Curse of the Blair Witch, and kept a website that discussed this curse. The entire marketing relied on the audience believing that it was a true story. The internet reported the actors of the film as missing or dead, and their missing posters were found on the website, which also included fake police reports and interviews. This strategy was so believable, that the parents of the actors received cards from multiple fans of the film who believed that their children were actually dead.

Samples

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Released in 1920, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is now widely considered to be the first full length horror film. Made in Germany during the Expressionistic movement, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is known for its eccentric production design, characterized by abstract sets and harsh makeup. While Caligari's horror style would be unconventional compared to today's films, it was highly influential visually and content-wise for what the horror genre would become in the following decade.
The film begins with a man named Francis telling another man the story of an ordeal that he and his wife recently encountered. The film flashes back to this memory, set in a small town in Germany. Francis and his friend, Alan, attend the town fair. There, they see a doctor performing his somnambulist show. The Doctor awakens the somnambulist, Cesare, and Alan asks him when he will die. Cesare replies that he will die at dawn, that night, Alan is stabbed to death. Francis becomes suspicious that Cesare was involved as a string of crimes occur.

Although Dr. Caligari was made so early in the history of horror films, it still includes many conventional factors of a traditional horror film. Twists and turns are all over the plot. The movie features violent murders, often only showing the knife and screams. Suspense is built up and foreshadowing is used to clue in viewers to what the ending will be. The film also deals with obsession and insanity, popular even in today's horror films.

Rosemary's Baby (1966)

Husband and wife Guy and Rosemary move into a New York apartment building despite being warned by friends and witnessing the previous tenant's peculiar behavior. Rosemary befriends a recovering drug addict named Terry who has been taken in by Rosemary's neighbors, Minnie and Roman; however, a couple days later, Terry commits suicide. Not too long after, Rosemary becomes pregnant. That night, Rosemary eats some food made by Minnie and begins to hallucinate and experience weird dreams. Rosemary begins to question why her neighbors are so interested in her baby.

Although Rosemary's Baby is an older film, a lot of its horror still holds up today. This is because the movie relies, not on cheap jumpscares and special effects, but rather on creating an uncomfortable environment. The film is deeply rooted in fleshing out Rosemary's paranoia and growing distrust in the people around her. The film's scariest scene, for example, relies on implies the violence rather than explicitly showing it, making the scene so much more disorienting and terrifying. Tight shots are used to represent Rosemary being trapped in her situation. Rosemary's Baby's most effective technique, however, is its subversion of stereotypes. Typically, trustworthy characters like the doctor, elderly neighbors, and her own husband, are the hidden antagonists of the film. These subversions are why Rosemary's Baby is now considered one of the greatest psychological horrors of all time.