Genre Film Opening Task

Lone Survivor

Judging by this film opening, this movie is based on war. The setting cross cuts to several different scenes of Navy Seal Training which automatically symbolises that the movie is based on a war nature. Most of the scenes include all kinds of weather conditions as well as the scenes being set in different times of the day. This reinforces the idea that war is all around us and that it is unpredictable. The opening scene also portrays the hostile reality of army training and how it affects the trainees. War movies tend to show us how harsh and horrible the surroundings of war affected areas are. Setting is used as a powerful tool to present this.

All the characters are dressed in the same uniform which tells us that they are in some sort of clan or group and they all have to face. There is also a powerful voice over in which a commander is instructing the trainee army man. The uniform is a perfect example of a prop which is used during war movies. You can also see that there is a lot of community within the characters which could perhaps represent a brotherly bond between the trainees. This also portrays a war movie as soldiers all fight together. Finally the film is shot at an amateur angle, this gives the opening scene a more personal feel and this might have an impact on viewers who have experienced army training.

Guardians of the Galaxy

This movie has many features which link back to the Sci-Fi and comedy genre but it may be hard to determine exactly what the genre is. Firstly, the title of the movie is striking and bold which immediately draws the attention to the audience. The font may even be similar to the star wars font which suggests that the movie has a Sci-Fi theme.As well as this, the word 'galaxy' is used in the title which often relates to the space theme. The colour of the text is a bright yellow. This connotes that the movie will be joyful, perhaps even comedic as yellow is often referred to as a cheerful colour. Secondly, there are several icons that reveal the genre. For instance, the protagonists' jet pack symbolises that there is a space type theme to the movie. It could be argued that the odd rat styled creatures are extra terrestrial, which is a key link to the Sci-Fi genre. Finally, there is a lot of movement and motion with the main character. His behaviour in the opening scene is comical and the music in the background is upbeat. This highlights the comedic aspect of the movie clearly. Setting is very hard in this scene to figure out the genre. However, the sky above is very ominous and star-like. This could suggest that the movie is set in space.

Harry Brown

The setting of the third movie opening is dark and mysterious. There are many clues to where this movie could be set. The graffiti on the back wall suggests an ominous alleyway in which teenagers are experimenting with drugs. There is high intensity within the scene which makes the setting realistic. The audience will feel more involved in the video due to the amateur filming method. Based on the setting of the film, we can predict that this type of film could be an action or thriller. As the film is filmed in an amateur manner, it could be argued that the film is being documented. This gives the opening scene a more personal atmosphere which you can often relate to a documentary. The guns, motorbike and the drugs are all iconography used in the opening scene. All these features are often found in movies involving crime, thrill or action. The action of the movie begins straight away when the audience is directly thrown into the middle of a crime scene. When the boys are riding on the bike, it feels as if the effects of drugs are in their system so this will make viewers feel more intense. Some of the characters that are included on the scene include troubled gangsters. This suggests that this footage is realistic and the characters are most likely to exist in society. 

Film Poster Analysis (Semiotics)

This is a poster from the 2012 movie Sinister. I have decided to analyse it because it clearly represents the horror genre. Firstly, the title immediately establishes the movie as a horror. For instance, the word 'sinister' is usually associated with evil and the creepy, oozing font is typical of the genre as it denotes images of horror.

The tag line states "once you see him, nothing can save you". This gives the poster a threatening feel. The action of threatening someone itself is often used in a horror movie when actors want to harm or hurt characters throughout the plot. Perhaps the face painted in blood on the wall is posing a threat towards the girl in the poster. As well as this, the tagline is breaking the forth wall by using the word 'you'. This is a device used to make the audience more involved with the film. It is a warning to the viewers that there is a dangerous character in the content of the movie, which you tend to find in horror films. Taglines are a useful tool to expose the genre of a movie, especially in horror movies. Using threats and warnings as a tagline usually highlights the fact that the movie is going to be thrilling or scary.

Thirdly, you can spot on the poster that there is a large amount of blood in the scene. Blood is an important symbol used throughout horror movies to portray death or murder. However, in this poster, the dripping blood smothered wall is perhaps representing an essence of fear. This is because there is a demonic face illustrated along the decrepit wall. Automatically, this gives the poster an eerie demeaning. Blood is also the colour red, which suggests that there is perilous content within the film. The audience often associates blood and danger to the slasher/horror genre.

To the right of the poster, you can spot a young girl dragging blood across the wall. Viewers can probably determine by this image that she is central to the plot as she is the only person in the picture. Most importantly, she is dressed in all white. An all white dress code implies that she is ghostly or paranormal. The colour white is stereo-typically referred to as supernatural in fictional horror movies. Therefore, her pale appearance tells us that she is rather spectral. She is also facing away from the blood-stained creature on the wall. It could be argued that she is either trying to escape from demonic forces of the evil source by avoiding eye contact or she has been consumed by the power of the phantom. She even could have formed an alliance with him by spreading his icon across the wall. Quite possibly, the idea of possession could link into this imagery. The face on the wall may be controlling her to share his name. Possession is also a key theme relating to the world or horror, as well as paranormal activity.

The devilish face itself gives a frightening atmosphere. It is staring out to the audience which is horrific imagery to display. Overall, this effect will make viewers fear the face in blood on the wall. Most horror films also contain icons. For instance, Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street and Michael Myers in the Halloween franchise are all example of iconic characters who are unique in their own way. The face used in this poster is original to the Sinister franchise and the demon itself, Boguel, is iconic for his pale face, long hair and blacked out eyes. This is a key feature used to identify this movie as a horror.

Finally, you will notice that the background of the poster portrays a decaying scene. Subsided and deteriorated locations are the conventional settings of the genre. Most horror movies feature an ageing house with a paranormal or murderous twist. Therefore, we can see that the scene which the poster is set is collapsing. The cracks in the wall demonstrates this clearly as it tells us that the location is crumbling.

In conclusion, there are many features to this poem that symbolise the horror genre. The public can clearly identify the genre when they notice icons such as the paranormal face, blood and the decomposing setting.

Pain and Gain Opening Scene

Genre Picture Task

Today, we were given a camera and four movie genres to display specific movie images. With the use of setting, characters and theme we managed to show a wide range of movie types in our photographs. I also used Photoshop to edit the photos.

1. Romance - Here we have a romantic scene involving two people holding hands. This really sets the scene that there is a romantic relationship going on in the photograph. The use of a monochrome filter could also represent that there is cold and darkness within their relationship and it needs to be overcome perhaps in the duration of the film.

2. Animation - Our second selection involves an animation scene, we are trying to show a range of superheroes on their way to battle. The colour is a good way to show that the scene is animated as they are vibrant and bright, which cartoons generally hold. However, I feel as if the photo is slightly more generalised and it may be hard to spot the genre.

  

3. Sci-Fi - Our third choice involves a scene of aliens trying to find there way around the area. I used editing skills here to change the colour of the faces to make them more green so that they represent a scene of aliens. This makes the genre a lot more easier to spot as aliens tend to be stereotypically green in skin colour.

4. Fantasy - Our final genre we picked out was fantasy. Here I have used editing skills to add in the blood covered sword and the unicorn horn to give it more of a mythical look. This means that more people will be able to identify the genre easier. As an alternative option, I could have added more mythological creatures like dragons to make the image look more like a fantasy genre. It may be hard to guess the setting and atmosphere of this photograph.