Genre research Jennifer Richburg Alexis Lundy Questionnaires Questionnaires

Genre research Jennifer Richburg Alexis Lundy

Questionnaires

Questionnaire Analysis To begin, a majority of the students in the age range of 13 -24 enjoy a little bit of juice to their films. None of their genres regard sitting down and watching a plot that has a sitcom or biography theme. They like science fiction and action, which involves creativity and exists to entertain the viewer instead of informing them. Moving on, every single one of our subjects watch movies for the plot. We cannot reasonably infer that they did not care about the actors and directors, but we can infer that if a movie showcases an interesting, in depth plot, a lot of people similar to the people we interviewed would be interested. The most important pattern in our research is the lack of one. All of the people we asked had different interests regarding what they would like to see in the opening of their movies. It shows that because everyone is different, almost no one will expect the same exact thing in their opening scenes. So, when we make our opening scenes, we must focus on the expectations of our intended audience instead of the expectations of the general public. Thus, finding our audience is one of the most vital steps in the making of our film.

First movie: Heathers ➢ Editing: There were a plethora of jump cuts, with a few fade outs here and there. The reason why they used so many jump cuts is because they had an abundance of scene changes. Transitioning between the multitude of scenes would result in a transition every few seconds. It was simply easier to perform a number of jump cuts. ➢ Angles: The initial camera angle is a close up. The close up consists of the main antagonist tying her hair. There also a couple of establishing shots. The first one was set in a character's backyard, showing three people drinking tea. The next establishing shot is the very last scene of the opening; where three characters enter the cafeteria. Additionally, there a few tracking shots within the opening scene. The first one occurred simultaneously with the initial establishing shot of the three characters drinking tea. The tracking movement helped the viewer see the setting: a backyard. Another tracking shot was in the same setting, as the aforementioned three characters waltz down to the croquet set. There was one high angle in the opening, when the antagonists stepped on and killed some beautiful roses. ➢ Mis-en-scene: The primary goal of clothing in this scene connect greatly to the plot. In the plot, the main antagonists were assigned colors, and the opening scene establishes the color each person was assigned. The main prop in this scene was a croquet set, and it can be reasonably inferred that the set was implemented to establish a somewhat formal tone. This wasn’t some random, run of the mill high school clique. They played croquet. ➢ Sound: The calm, lighthearted tone in the opening scene is an attempt to set up a situational irony. For those who do not know, the plot of this movie revolves around a series of murders that are manipulated to look like a suicide. The tranquil background music gives a relaxing atmosphere before the slew of deaths that inevitably occurs.

Second movie: Holes ➢ Angles: Throughout the opening scene, there is an abundance of different camera angles and camera shots. The very first camera movement was a pan, combined with an establishing shot. By moving the camera from side to side, the viewer was able to see the setting of the opening scene, Camp Green Lake, with its plentiful holes. Next was a high angle, which showcased a specific character’s hole. Soon after this was the inevitable bird’s eye shot, which presented practically all of the holes dug at Camp Green Lake. After this is a series of close ups. The first close up shows a camper’s foot right before it gets bitten by a poisonous snake, and the next few close ups are his friends screaming warnings at him to stay away from the snake. After the traumatic experience clears, the viewer watches a zoom in on the camp bus taking Stanley, the main character, to Camp Green Lake. ➢ Sound: The song about digging in the beginning was non diegetic sound used because the movie revolves around teenage boys digging holes. Stanley’s voice over giving family background was internal diegetic sound which helps to explain the family curse, an important part of the movie.

Second movie: Holes (continued) ➢ Editing: A graphic match was used to switch from the sun in the camp to shoes falling out of the sky, to smoothly transition between the two scenes. The jump cuts in Holes are used in the beginning to make scenes more intense, to keep the audience wondering if Walkman will really get bit by the rattlesnake and to show the panic of the other boys. They are also used to move the story along in time. An eyeline match was used to show Walkman looking at the snake to foreshadow what’s about to happen. To emphasize the moment Stanley’s life would change in the movie, slow motion was used to show the shoes falling from the sky. ➢ Mis-en-scene: For lighting in the beginning, bright sunlight is used to show the excruciating heat and lack of shade at the camp. There were a couple of props used. Firstly, the shovels to show the importance of digging. And secondly, the shoes to confirm Stanley’s father is trying to cure foot odor. An important costume was the orange prison like jumpsuits used to show the trapped feeling of the teenagers and the autocracy of the leaders. There were two main sets in the movie. Stanley’s house is covered in shoes to backup the story he told about his father trying to cure foot odor. The second was the camp. It had dry cracked ground to show the desert like surroundings.

Third movie: Hoot ➢ Editing: The shots in the beginning are very short, not more than a couple of seconds long. This works with the many fade ins and outs to show off the plains and mountains of Montana. Then, it starts to fade into scenes of Florida, like herons, the coast and the ocean. ➢ Angles: The very first notable camera angle was a zoom in. A majority of the camera angles showed in the opening scene was to establish the two settings: Montana and Florida. In Montana, there were tracking shots to follow the running gazelles, and more zoom ins of the vast, flat prairie that the main character loved riding his horse in. To show the main character’s love for the northern state, the camera zoomed into a close up of the main character smiling. Afterwards, there was a continuous pan, mixed in with multiple fade outs, to continuously showcase Montana. Then, once the scene and tone shifts to the main character’s misery from living in Florida, they begin with a bird’s eye view of the stunning Floridian beaches. Next is multiple zoom ins to present the Floridian animals, such as herons and pelicans. There also a few zoom ins of the Florida beaches. The opening scene concludes with another zoom in of the school bus the main character is riding in.

Third movie: Hoot ➢ Mis-en-scene: Throughout the opening scene, the costumes used directly corresponded with the setting. For instance, when the main character was riding his horse through the Montana prairies, he was wearing a cowboy hat and typical cowboy attire, which fits the Montana theme. Although Montana residents probably do not dress as a cowboy everyday, the main character’s costume perfectly fits into the “northern cowboy riding his horse on a prairie” theme. Then, when the scene shifts to Florida, he begins wearing Floridian attire: short sleeve shirt and shorts. Additionally, throughout the opening scene, there were a small number of props in use. The director used a horse and footage of native animals running to establish a Montana feeling. Once the movie setting shifts to Florida, the props used included boats and seaplanes, to give the Floridian feeling. Finally, a bus is used to begin the movie of the main character's new life in Florida. ➢ Sound: A non diegetic folk-pop song is playing at first to help get a feeling of Montana, the place Roy, the main character, is describing. As it continues playing, it helps to set up the tranquility and beauty of both Montana and Florida. Similar to Holes, Roy does an internal diegetic voice over to give some background on the movie. It tells why he moves to Florida, an important factor in the movie.

Conclusion One ongoing trend throughout all of the opening scenes is the establishment of vital things that contribute to the overall plot. To illustrate, in Heathers, the opening scene showed the colors of each of the antagonists, which was vital to the plot. In Holes, the opening scene showcased one of the campers being bitten by a rattlesnake, which creates a sense of fear in the main character's stomach regarding the camp. In addition, the opening scene of Holes shows the pair of famous shoes falling on Stanley’s head, which also is essential to forming the plot. Finally, in Hoot, the opening scene presents the main character’s backstory, which is vital in the formation of one of the movie’s anti bullying themes. In addition, most of the opening scenes included establishing shots to present the setting of each movie and to give the tone of the movie. The only movie that did not follow this trend was Heathers, which began with the popular girls playing croquet, which created a situationally ironic tone. Other than that, Holes and Hoot both created a tone in the opening scene and stayed consistent with that tone. Our film will vaguely follow the same trends. We will establish vital aspects of our plot, such as the girl finding her friend’s texts and deciding to kill him. We will also show the girl beginning to enjoy the company of the boy, which will establish the plot of her not wanting to kill him. Thus, we will not follow the consistent tone Holes and Hoot followed. Our tone will change from cheerful to sinister to lighthearted to desperate. We will throw our viewers onto an emotional roller coaster during our opening scene, contrary to our 3 movies.

Films that influenced us ➢ We believe that Holes influenced us the most. It was most similar to our movie, even down to the use of poison. Some things we could use from Holes are the jump cuts to move the opening two minutes through time and for intensity. We could use an eyeline match to show the government employee looking at her friend’s phone. Holes used lots of props to help the plot and that is something we will also do, like using sandwiches, calendars, phones, and, most importantly, a car. However, we probably won’t use a voice over because it would not fit our plot very well. Stanley and Roy’s voice overs were used to give background on their families, but our movie does not require a background story. We probably won’t use slow motion either, because nothing that we know of will need that much emphasis in our movie.

Which film company would produce our film? ➢ Heathers was produced by New World Pictures. ➢ Hoot was produced by New Line Cinema. ➢ Holes was produced by the following companies: ○ Phoenix Pictures → Walden Movie → Walt Disney Pictures → The Walt Disney Company ➢ Seeing that Holes is the movie that influenced us the most and that we feel it is most similar to our movie, we looked up the companies that made it. On a smaller scale, Phoenix Pictures would produce our film. They have produced films like What To Expect When You’re Expecting (2012), Stealth (2005), and License to Wed (2007). However on a larger scale, The Walt Disney Company would produce our film which has made many of the famous Disney movies: Tangled (2010), The Incredibles (2004), Lilo & Stitch (2002), and Pirates of the Caribbean (2003).