Representation

       Within my project, one of the groups I am interested in representing is that of Asian Americans. Whether in tv shows and films or in commercials, Asians are typically portrayed as geeks and technical geniuses. They may also be portrayed as foreigners who are recent immigrants to the US, often having broken English and thick accents. Asians in the media are typically submissive and shy. They tend to be portrayed as bully victims or those that are romantically inept. In particular, Asian American woman have been routinely featured as prostitutes and sex workers.

       They are shown many times as being highly sexualized and submissive. This is shown in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, where a Vietnamese sex worker sexually devalues herself for white American soldiers, telling them "me love you long time." Asian representation in media is often times whitewashed; white actors are used to play the roles of Asian characters. This can be seen in numerous films, such as Ghost in the Shell, when Scarlett Johansson played Motoko Kusanagi, or in The Martian when Mackenzie Davis played the role of a Korean scientist, Mindy Park.

       Fortunately, there have been attempts to change this existing representation in a more diverse and accurate manner, and increase the representation of Asians altogether. This can be seen in the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. This movie's cast was predominantly Asian, with an all Asian group of leading characters. The movie also showed numerous Asian traditions, such as the game mahjong.

       These representations upset me, as they are not fair or correct. In the media, Asian culture may be seen as some mythical and strange thing, but in reality Asian Americans are just modern people with modern occupations and lives. In my project, I would challenge all of the stereotypes of Asian Americans, as they are not accurate to the group. In my project, I would show a group of Asian characters, all with different backgrounds and contrasting personalities. I would depict them as the protagonists and would show their everyday lives and experiences.

Genre Research - Researching Romance

Hi and welcome back to my blog!
Today I will be analyzing a second movie genre: romance.

Romance films are often light-hearted and humorous and aim to show how true love can overcome obstacles. They are typically aimed at a female audience.

ROMANCE

GENRE CONVENTIONS - CONTENT

Romance movies generally focus on themes of true love, status, gender, sexuality, and relationships; often a voiceover is used to introduce this theme of love.

The narrative structure of the genre is typically a standard chronological structure, introducing the main characters. Usually these characters go their separate ways because of a disagreement (conflict) but get back together afterwards ("happily ever after").

The setting of romance movies are typically in urban settings like a large city (NYC) or the beach, school, local diner, fancy restaurant - typically somewhere a chance encounter can take place. 

As for characters, these generally comprise of a man and woman that meet and end up falling in love. The "heroes" tend to be men. There is may be a character that isn't happy with the relationship and tries to stop it.
Props that may be found in romance movies include: flowers such as roses, jewelry, hearts, box of chocolates.

GENRE CONVENTIONS - PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Cinematography and editing techniques are often manipulated to create a sense of love and intimacy.
The lighting used is often warm and bright, growing softer and dimmer in more sensual moments.

Sound and music used in romance movies depend on the mood of the characters and the film.
If the movie is sad, soft instrumental music will typically be used, whereas at happy moments of the film, an upbeat and cheerful song will be used.
Close-up shots, which are often of a character's face, are used to emphasize significant events or emotions in the narrative.
Shot reverse shot edits are used to show the connection and relationship between two characters, typically the protagonists.
Two shots are also often used in romance movies, typically to show moments where the characters feel close to each other. They may be kissing, or hugging, or just talking. Typically these shots wouldn't be used during an argument scene. 

INSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS

The romance genre is typically marketed through social media channels, traditional methods like billboards, viral campaigns, experiential marketing, and trailers, which may feature raunchy scenes in order to attract attention.

FILM SAMPLE 1 - La La Land (2016)

This film centers around the relationship between an actress and pianist as they fall in love and attempt to reconcile their aspirations for the future. This film employs color alterations to mark the evolution of couple's relationship. Mia, for example, wears light colors, like that in her yellow dress, during the early stages of their relationship. The lighting is also changed from when they are happy together (bright, warm colors) to when they are not, especially when they are arguing at Sebastian's apartment, where dark, harsh lighting is used. Like many movies in the romance genre, the main characters (Mia and Sebastian) don't like each other when they first meet. This changes when the characters realize how much they have in common.

FILM SAMPLE 2 - Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

This film follows the growing relationship between a man with bipolar disorder and a widow and how they bond through a dance competition. Just like La La Land and other romance movies, the two characters don't get along at the start of the movie and only get together at the end. It's presumed that they both live happily ever after. This movie uses numerous two shots, especially when the characters are getting along and as their romantic relationship is strengthening, and uses shot reverse shots during scenes where the two are arguing.

OTHER EXAMPLES

Titanic (1997)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Love Actually (2003)

Love, Simon (2018)

https://mashable.com/2018/01/16/love-simon-second-movie-trailer/#j_WOzLsMAaq8

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD4vTE3FQVQ

Genre Research - Researching Horror

Upon researching different genres, I decided to place my focus on the horror genre. I decided to choose this as it is one of my favorite film genres to watch. 

Horror films are made to unsettle and frighten their audience - which are typically those ages 15-25 -and do so through the genre's distinct codes and conventions.

HORROR

GENRE CONVENTIONS - CONTENT

Horror movies generally focus on themes of death and murder, revenge, religious beliefs, survival, supernatural, etc.

The narrative structure of the genre is typically a standard chronological structure, often with heavy foreshadowing to create tension.

The setting of horror movies usually play on standard human fears like the dark and isolation. These settings typically include hospitals, insane asylums, churches, and isolated communities like ghost towns or cabins.

As for characters, these comprise of the hero/protagonist that fights the villain, the villain/antagonist, and the victims, often immoral teenagers, stupid beautiful young women.

Props used may include weapons, usually stabbing or cutting methods, dark costumes, blood, and repetition of red and black colors.

GENRE CONVENTIONS - PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES

Cinematography and editing techniques are often manipulated to create a sense of urgency and fear. These include unnatural camera angles - very high, very low (to demonstrate dominance and innocence and power relations), extreme close-ups, long take with a sudden jump cut, point of view shot from the perspective of the villain, handheld (often shaky) camera shots, and a shallow depth of field, which makes whatever is behind the protagonist blurry to create suspense.

Sound and music may also add to this suspense. These include ambient diegetic sounds (footsteps, chainsaw, breathing), orchestral sounds (typically violin), synchronous sound, and silence used to build tension.

INSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS

The horror genre is typically marketed through social media channels, traditional methods like billboards, viral campaigns, experiential marketing, and trailers. The trailers used for horror movies typically only show a few characters and don't expose much of the plot.

FILM SAMPLE 1 - Paranormal Activity (2007)

This film centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The use of found footage is used to frighten the audience, as the people shown in the video are normal people like you and me. The footage also has very little edits and lacks a soundtrack, relying heavily on diegetic sounds. Once again, this creates a sense of rawness in the footage, as if the occurrences shown on screen are real and plausible in real life.

FILM SAMPLE 2 - The Blair Witch Project (1999)

This film tells the tale of three film students who traveled to a small town to collect documentary footage of the Blair Witch, a legendary local murderer. This movie relies heavily on its use of handheld camera, which allows for a personal feel (shakiness as the characters are walking or running) and extreme close-ups of their petrified expressions. Just like Paranormal Activity, the film footage is seen as "found footage."

OTHER EXAMPLES

     Friday the 13th (1980)          The Babadook (2014)           The Visit (2015)

The Innocents (1961)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDYtZUj2sMk

Psycho (1960)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY

Introduction :)

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Alesso. I am a senior at Cypress Bay high school and welcome to my official blog!

In this blog, I will be documenting my process in the brainstorming, planning, and eventually the creation of my foundation portfolio, which will be a film opening. 

I wish I could already tell you my ideas for the film opening, but I am currently stuck and don't know where to start. I won't lose hope, though, and know that I will find inspiration somewhere, whether through watching films or just in my everyday life. I know that if I really pause and think hard, I will be able to come up with a good story.

What is causing me difficulties right now is the fact that my film has to be suitable only for a movie opening rather than any other point of the movie. Whenever I come up with even a slight idea of what to film, I realize that it would work better in the middle or towards the end of a movie rather than the opening.

During my portfolio process, I plan on detailing the thoughts and ideas that arise through my brainstorming, and plan on including my plans for making those thoughts come to life.

Currently, I am in the brainstorming process and, although it may be difficult, I am looking forward to begin my planning process. 

Thank you for reading my first post, and I hope you enjoy my blog. Bye and see you soon! :)