Horror Movies

Hello Blog!

Since the spooky season is upon us, I decided to talk about horror films.

While horror movies are not for everyone it is still one of the most popular genres in storytelling, they are quite popular within their target audience. They tend to market mostly towards 15 to 24-year-olds. When it comes to marketing these films, many horror films have a scary tone that is reinforced by heavy and dark colors. It typically tries to make the audience feel uneasy by showing some type of monster or villain in order to intrigue them and make them want to watch the movie. There can be many different sub genres within horror such as thrillers, psychological horrors, and many more, each containing their own unique themes. While each is unique in their own ways, they share one common goal: to scare their audience.

Content:

One common theme in a lot of horror productions is the use of foreshadowing throughout the movie. These movies use motifs or symbols in order to foreshadow either climax in the movie, an important moment, or even the ending. While these types of tricks are not very obvious throughout the movie. They exist in order for the viewer to be constantly intrigued and engaged throughout the movie. One example of this is the movie Black Swan. In this movie, the internal struggles of a ballerina whose only wish is to be the main dancer in the swan lake. Film is a type of psychological horror in which we see mind games and tricks played throughout the movie in order to scare the main character and the audience. This film uses a lot of foreshadowing throughout the story. From the beginning. We see the main character auditioning for her main role, the Black Swan. However, she is told that she is far too innocent and too delicate to play the role. We see her journey as she slowly morphs Into the type of person fit to play the Black Swan, slowly destroying her own mental health. 

Another common thing in horror movies is similar plots. Films, whether it's psychological horror or a thriller, usually contain a main character and a villain, whether it's a killer or a monster, there's always an evil force that must be stopped. We see an example of this in the movie Fear Street. This movie does have its own unique elements; however it tends to reference a lot of other horror movies and follows a similar plot. It uses films such as Friday the 13th, the Shining and many more. This can be seen as a movie containing many cliche horror references like witches, crazy killers, and revenge. 

Production Techniques:

In the horror genre, films typically follow certain techniques. Lighting and coloring is used to set an eerie and spooky mood. Horror movies tend to create a sense of suspense and fear by using jump scares, dark colors, and eerie music. One of the most important factors in the whole genre is music. Music sets the whole tone for a production and in this case, music is used to build a suspenseful atmosphere by setting an unsettling mood. Sound effects such as whispers and screams also aid to the tone of the production.

For example, In the movie Halloween (1978), a certain melody is repeatedly used. This iconic tune helps the audience see when the killer is nearing and ready to pounce. 

While sound is typically very important in movies, in some cases the lack of sound is even more impactful. In the movie A Quiet Place The lack of sound symbolizes their safety and the fact that there are no monsters around them. However, breaking this silence can have huge consequences as monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing attack when they hear life nearby.

All these different techniques and common themes are what make the horror genre what we see today.

Other horror movies:

The Conjuring Movies 

Texas chainsaw Massacre

Fear Street

Nightmare on Elm Street

The Ring

Representation in the Media

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How I Met Your Mother is a show in which the main character tells his kids the story of how he came to meet their mother. The characters navigate through love, their careers, and other challenges while living in New York City. This show deals with a variety of characters with different personalities. While some are fully career-oriented and deal with commitment issues, others are more in-touch with their emotions. This show tends to deal with the stereotypical views of men and women.

This show tends to navigate through traditional gender roles. Characters such as Barney Stitson, who is a playboy obsessed with the seduction of women, reinforce the behavior of stereotypical “playboy” men. He is often depicted as someone who only lusts after women, never making an effort to connect with anyone. Barney is seen objectifying women, only caring about how many he can conquer multiple times throughout the series. This reinforces the stereotype that men are oftentimes seeking women out of lust, never caring about making meaningful connections, only worried about who their next conquest will be.

Representation of women is also a big element in the show. In television women are often portrayed as characters who focus on love and their families above all else. They usually have the desire to get married and have children, with a clear view of how they want their future to be. However, in the series, the character Robin Scherbatsky is portrayed as a woman who
tends to put her career above everything even if it ends up hurting her relationships. She is always clear on the fact that she does not wish to get married and have children, even though that is the life most women might dream of. This type of character helps get rid of stereotypes in television and it reflects a huge number of women out in the world today. Women who are like Robin and do not have any desire to get married, even though that is what society once deemed as a woman’s biggest role in life.

While this show does tend to depict gender stereotypes, it also deals with the journeys of the characters and their growth as people. This show represents how women don't need to conform to society norms and that they do not need to adjust their beliefs and wants just to conform to society.

Sound Project

Hello Blog!

We recently started learning about audio.

We learned about different types of sound and that music helps establish the tone of a video. We learned that it is one of the most difficult things to produce for a video, and that manipulates the audience to feel a certain way while adding emotion and dimension to the scene.

But the most important thing we learned was that audio is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in a video.

To put our knowledge to the test, we were assigned to create a soundscape composed only of audio clips. For this project we were limited to the use of only seven words, we were allowed to compose our video mainly on pre-made sound effects, but we were required to make at least four sound effects by using foley sounds.

My partner and I decided to make the process of a spaceship taking off. We started the process with an outline of what our soundscape would sound like.

We broke it up into five scenes: Getting ready, Walking into spec shuttle, Buckling up, Countdown, and Liftoff.

This helped us better organize ourselves and plan each scene accordingly 

Here is what our outline looked like:

We then recorded our sounds and put the project together in Adobe Premiere Pro.

I think my partner and I did a pretty good job on this project, the only thing I would have liked to improve on was maybe trying to find better sound effects for when the spaceship is taking off, and maybe shortening the sequence in which the astronaut walks towards the spaceship. 

Here is the link to the project!

TrinidadSmedley_Soundscape_Per5