Horror and Action Genre Research

    Hello, for the next part of our movie project process is to research two more genres that are different from our first project. Our group decided on Action and Horror.
   Action just like any other genre has common lightnings, camera angles, mis en scenes, editing, and sound. In action films lots of accent lighting is used to enhance certain scenes and the mood intended for that particular scene. Some common situations for the lighting in the beginning of the movie is low lightning with shadowing. Then as the movie picks up to more action packed shots the lightning becomes brighter in cases of victory or back to gloomy in times of loss. Common camera angles in action movies include high angles to show superiority or low angles to show inferiority. Tilts, aerial shots, over the shoulder shot, establishing, and medium close ups are also common. Action genre films also have tend to have common sounds such as ambient background sounds like explosions or lots of digetic and non-digetic sounds. Sounds from vehicles is present in a lot of action movies and of course dialogue. Common Mis En Scene can be shown through the abbreviation C.L.A.M.P.S. C for costumes has a very wide spectrum that could go from gowns and tuxes in a film like James Bond to superhero costumes in the Avengers. L for lightening is usually correlated with tone so it could be bright or low. A for actors is people from all genders, ethnics, and nationality. Makeup usually isn't too dramatic and a lot of times used to show cuts or a rugged look. P for props in action films could be cars, weapons, or practically anything retaining to the plot. Setting is also very vague, they could be shot anywhere but the location is usually established very quickly and states when it changes. Common editing techniques used in the genre Action consist of jump shots, flashbacks, etc. 
   Action is a very big genre in film. Many of the films in this genre have very similar elements. The elements for an action film include high impacts, continuous high energy, lots of physical stunts and activity, and many times there are extended chase scenes, fights, escapes, and races. Action films also have a lot of non-stop motion and great rhythm and pacing in order to keep the audience entertained. Action films also have great potential to cross-over into other genres of film such as: Science fiction, thriller, crime, and westerns. Many times in action films there is usually some type of love interest between the protagonist and another character. Another character element in action films is that the hero seems to always have some dark and depressing backstory. Action films will always have the main protagonist struggling against some kind of life-threatening situation such as facing an evil super villain, trapped in a deadly scenario, or in a dangerous chase but in the end, the hero always wins. A couple examples of action films that display many of these elements are: John Wick (2014), Spectre (2015), Mission Impossible-Fallout (2018), and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). Within these elements I really like the overly dramatic fight scenes as well as the prolonged chase sequences. I find these elements to be very entertaining and fun to watch. However, I don’t really like some of the character and plot elements of actions films like the love interest or the dark backstory. I find these elements to be very cliché and overdone.
   The next genre we are going to look at is horror. The horror genre like many others have common camera angles, movements and shots, common lighting, mis en scene, editing and sound. The most common camera angles seen in this genre are high angles to show superiority, dutch angle to give the feeling of tension and to show that somethings wrong, and low angles to show inferiority. Some common camera shots and movements are long shots, close up, zooms, point of view shots, tracking and pan shots, over the shoulder, wide shot, establishing shot just to name a few. For lighting, some common scenes are introduced with dark lighting to emphasize the feeling that something is going to happen, usually something that's not good. As the movie progresses there are usually some scenes that are more brightly lit to break up the feeling of suspense and horror. Which are then followed by the darkened scenes which radiate the feeling of horror. Horror genre film also have common sounds such as non diegetic sound, usually the eerie sounds that the viewers hear when somethings about to happen. Also diegetic sound,dialogue, ambient sounds, incidental sounds and internal diegetic. Common Mis en scene can be shown through the abbreviation C.L.A.M.P.S. C for costumes has a very big spectrum. Usually the costumes can consist of normal clothing normally seen in movies like Annabelle and Scary stories. Along with normal clothing some more obscure costumes can be used for the antagonist of the movie like in movies like the Scream trilogy. L for lighting is usually connected to the tone of the movie usually it’s dark lighting to make the feeling of horror. A for actors  can be anyone, any gender, ethnicity, nationality. M for makeup can be anything. In some movies like  Scary stories  they use effects makeup or normal every day makeup. P for props can be anything from a knife to a stick. S the setting can be anywhere any location. Common editing techniques used in this genre are flashbacks, cut always, fade in/out, shot reverse shot, action match, jump cut etc.
  Horror is a very big genre in film and a lot of the films have very similar elements. The elements in a horror film are designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale. While captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films effectively center on the dark side of life the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and it’s fears:our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsion, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, or loss of identity. Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when earth is threatened by aliens. A couple examples of horror films that show these elements are: It (2017),  The ring (2002), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Wolf Man (2010), and Insidious (2010). Within these elements I really like the jump scares they add into these horror films, I also like the monsters they create. However I don’t like it when different horror films have the same story line I think that it’s annoying.