AICE Media Studies 2020

Genre Research: Let The Right One In     This movie begins with the production company listed then “Let the Right One In” scrolled vertically in blood red font white sticks out form the snow-white fonts of the director, most of the production crew, and subsequently the actors last. This is all over a black screen that has the incidental music of a far off snow storm playing eerily or maybe just it was nothing really at all. Already an unsettling tone is set for this Swedish adaption of a novel. The black screen then cuts to snow falling on a black night which eventually comes out of focus to reveal the main character, Oskar with a noticeable scar over his face staring out over the play ground in the center of his apartment complex. He simply says “squeal like a pig, so squeal”. The two minutes is now over. The film at its core is already full of mystery yet has a sense of dread thanks to its use of sound. The entire story is that Oskar is a bullied boy that discov...

Genre Research: Teen Wolf     This film I did for research is the 1985 “Teen Wolf”. This film is about a very average high school student that longs for the most popular girl at the school and is on the basketball team that is the most losing team in the area. He of course finds out he is a werewolf and uses his new superpowers to dominate his basketball competition and grow his popularity, all while furry. Once again, I could not find the first two minutes but instead, I chose a clip of Scott Howard, teen wolf, Transforming mid game for the first time and dunking. There are a lot of mid shots and only a few wide shots with the werewolf in his entirely. The editing is very choppy, most noticeably is when the wolf takes off to dunk.   The shot reverse shot is also highly used to see the reactions of different people in the crowd or teammates in close ups. It is so fake its fun almost. Overall, it has the requisite amount of 1980’s camp to make it fun. So much so...

Genre Research: Once Bitten      The 1985 Film, “Once Bitten”, is a true blue ‘80s movie about what would happen if a vampire needed the blood of virgins to keep her youthful appearance… in L.A. during the 1980s. True to form, this movie highlights one such situation, after the protagonist (Jim Carrey in his first major acting role as Michael) goes with some of his high school friends to a bar is picked up and bite by a 400 year old vampire. He has no knowledge of this happening so he goes to school and interacts with people, all while exhibiting his new, freakish habits. I was not able to find the opening minutes of the movie, but did watch a clip toward the end to get a feel for the picture. In this clip, the characters are at a school Halloween dance and Michael’s girlfriend confronts the vampire countess in a glorious 1980’s dance off. This is largely used to get back possession of Michael, but it is humorous none the less. The song “Hands Off” plays as a...

Genre Research: Dracula: Dead and Loving It    “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” (1995) is a comedy that spoofs vampire or Dracula movies. The opening of the movie sets up the danger of Dracula in the movie as it starts with a skit of an elder village woman telling protagonist Thomas Reinfield to take a cross as protection from the monstrous vampire. During the course of the skit, the women uses her throat to make funny noises as she speaks and tells Reinfield to “take the damn cross” on the third attempt to decline the gesture. The shot reverse shot is used throughout the conversation to go back and forth between the characters. The actual opening credits is of Reinfield traveling as the sun sets and the opening credits have major actors, directors, producers, writers, and of course, Mel Brooks. This flick had a budget had a $30 million and made a putrid $10.7 million in the box office. It was also panned critically. However, this movie was useful for learning how th...

Genre Research: Superbad      The opening of "Superbad" features a long VFX display of the outlines of the two characters dancing to the song, "To Hot to Stop" by the Bar-Kays in a sequence very reminiscent of the 1970’s. The sequence has more editing to add interest to the credits than the rest of the movie. In the credits all positions from actors, directors, producers, and writers. The irreverent dancing and the funky music do much to add to the over the top nature of the movie. The entire premise of the movie is for two long-time friends to acquire alcohol for a party, and ended up sleeping with the girls of their dreams by the end of the night. Granted, nothing is gleaned from this sequence, in fact the only thing that can be possibly noted is the awkwardness of the dancers. This entire green screen sequence is in a wide camera shot to get the two protagonists’ moves. Overall, this teen-comedy had a $20 million dollar budget but grossed $169 Million. No...

The High Angle Shot ^ The Low Angle Shot ^ The Canted Angle ^ The Extreme Close-Up ^ The Wide Shot ^ The Mid Shot ^

     After weighing the pros and cons of both project types, I feel like the Movie best fits my interest and talents. The studying for the project by analyzing industry example just seems like it would hold my interest better. I would love to eventually learn how to convey complex themes with actors that a writer could never portray with faceless ink. In addition, the avoidance of working with word or publisher and having to ensure perfect grammar is a welcome bonus with the movie. I have a few ideas of the genre, the primary being a coming of age story. Most of the big Hollywood movies tell such stories with mature actors rather than children playing the age they actually are. By using actual ages, I hope to achieve a certain level of authenticity with delivery of jokes in a possible comedy or accurate depictions of emotional responses. The genre rather than just what to do with it would be a comedy inspired by "Superbad" and other movies that use the comedic effect gain...