Research 9, the short

 Hey guys I'm back blogging again. This time my class was assigned to watch the short film titled "9". It was a film created by Shane Acker and it was released in September of 2009. Honestly I wasn't too impressed with the film. I say this because I was sort of expecting more. There was no dialogue in the film which automatically made me lose some interest. Although there was no from of dialogue I still was able to understand what was happening. I was able to understand what was happening through the actions of the characters. There was a small action scene. The action scene did spark my attention. It sparked my attention mainly because of the special effects used and the camera angles. The director used plenty of high angles and low angles during the action scene. Other shots such as a zoom shot and an eye line match was used. This film also had diegetic sound. For example, the audience was able to hear 9's footsteps when running away from the machine that was attacking him. There was also some non diegetic sound added. The sound was added when the machine was making noise. There was also character development in 9. After his friend died he learned to be brave and step up to the plate. After he did this he was able to out smart the machine and defeat it.

Research 9, the feature film

 Originally Shane Acker created a short film called 9 that was 7 minutes long. The short film did so well that it got it extended to be a hour and 19 minute long feature film. I watched the feature film last night and I was beyond impressed. The plot of the film was perfect. Basically the story was about the world being destroyed in a war that happened. This war was between humans and machines. I know that sounds impossible but in the movie it happened. 9 was a doll created by a doctor and at first he thought he was alone. After that he was lost for a while until he discovered that there were others like him. After him and the others teamed up they decided to fight back against the machines. Throughout the movie the main character, 9 had a ton of character development. In the beginning of the movie he was extremely shy and fragile. Over time he started to become braver and more independent. The film used several different camera angles. One angle that was used quite frequently was the two shot. I saw this shot during many of the dialogue scenes of the film. For example, when 2 and 9 were talking about what happened to the world that they were in. Some other angles that were used were a long shot, a close up, and also a high and low angle. Visual special effects were also used frequently throughout the feature film. There was a ton of animation in the film also. Overall this film was executed perfectly and I would definitely recommend it to to others. 

Short Film vs. Feature Length Film

 I recently watched the short film 9, by Shane Acker. I also watched the extended feature film 9. Both of these films had many similarities as well as many differences. Both films main similarity was defeating the machines that were trying to kill off 9's kind. One of the major differences I noticed was the plot of both films. In the feature film, 9 and the members of the group come together to fight back against the machines. These machines looked like large robot animals made out of mechanical parts. These machines would hunt 9's kind and kill them by zapping them with a green colored light. However, in the short film 9 was fighting against one machine by himself because that one machine killed off the only other person he knew. Another difference that I pointed out was that in the short there wasn't any dialogue but in the feature film there was dialogue throughout the entire film. Although there was no dialogue in the short film viewers were still able to understand what was going on. This was due to the characters actions and facial expressions. In the feature the film the film started off with the character 9 being created by the doctor. After the doctor created 9 he died shortly after and left 9 by himself with no understanding of what was going on. In the short film it started off with 9 being in the outside world rather than starting off with the way he was made. That part was skipped due to the fact that the short film got straight to the point. In my opinion, I enjoyed the feature film more. I feel this way because the feature film had more action as well as dialogue. The short film didn't keep my attention for long because there was no dialogue which made it harder for me to focus. I also liked the feature film more because of the character development with 9. In the beginning of the movie he was very fragile and scared and throughout the movie he finds his voice and becomes stronger and more brave.

Genre Choice for Film

 My partner and I had three genre options to choose for our short film. The three genres were crime, thriller, and drama. While discussing which one we wanted to pick we decided not to do drama. We didn't want to do drama because it didn't really focus on our pitch. After talking to my partner for some time we were stuck between picking  thriller or crime to be the genre that represents our short film. We both agreed that the genres had many similarities that could be used. After discussing it the genre that we choose to go with was crime. We choose this specific genre because our pitch is mainly about a crime being committed. Due to the fact that the genres are so similar we thought it would be a great idea to go with crime because with the crime genre we'll be able to include the features of a thriller movie on our film. For example, we expect our film to give off a suspenseful mood to the audience. We also expect it to keep the veiwers excited and keep their anticipation level extremely high throughout the entire film. While researching we found that a sub genre of the crime genre is a "legal thriller". We were inspired to choose the crime genre out of all three options because we realized that that would be the genre that would best be portrayed in our film. Our pitch was "A lady supposedly goes on vacation and when her house is broken into her body is found floating in the pool". At the time we thought the pool would be the best place for the lady to be found. Now we realized we most likely will have to change that part of our pitch. Neither of us have access to a pool right now. Since we don't have access to a pool we decided to say that the womans lifeless body will be found in a bathtub. This is not a big tweak so it shouldn't affect our pitch too much. If we are able to gain access to a pool when it comes time to film we'll make sure to keep a note of that. 

Genre Research (Thriller, Crime, Drama)

 A genre were going to explore is the crime or criminal genre. Common CAMS in the criminal genre include high and low angled shots, close-ups, extreme close ups, dolly zooms, dolly movement, and handheld shots. Common sounds in criminal thriller genre include soundtracks, diegetic sounds, non-diegetic sounds, ambient sounds, sound bridges, dialogue, and incidental music. Common Mis en scene in this genre include, lighting, actors, make-up, props, and settings (in mysterious places).  Common editing technical used in this genre consist of dissolve transitions, montages, fade outs/ins, cut aways, and jump cuts. Example Films include the movies “Rope”, “Dial M for murder”, and “The silence of the lambs”. Elements of the genre I like is the suspense thats comes from the conflict, the foreshadowing, and when the crimes are solved.

Elements of the genre that do not appeal to me are the fact that you can sometimes tell how the story will

end. I like to be surprised, and these type of films aren’t really suspenseful.
The second genre we’re going to explore is the thriller genre. A thriller is a suspense film the evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. Lightings used in thriller movies are key lighting, under lighting, and filler light. Common camera angles and shots in thrillers are high angle shots, low angle shots, canted angles, wide shots, and panning shots. Characteristics of common sounds found in the thriller genre, is dark and eerie sounds. The music starts in a slow pace at first whilst gradually speeding up the pace helping to create the tension and build climax.  Common Mis En Scene in thriller, weapons art the common props in fight scenes, which are commonly used to create tension. The thriller genre uses the elements of story(action), plot, character and setting. The story in thrillers uses tension and excitement to stimulate the viewers moods. Examples of this genre consist of Get Out, Taken, Seven, and Unknown. Thriller films are enjoyed because it keeps the audience at the end of their seats and build suspense and tension, it entertains the audience and engages them through the film.
Finally the last genre we're going to research is the drama genre. Common camera angles, and shots in this genre are long shots, close-ups, two-shots, and over-the shoulder shots. Continually, common camera movements include tilts, zooms, and dolly's. Characteristics of common sounds found in this genre are dialogue, sound effects, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Common Mis En Scene in the drama genre include, costumes, lighting, actors of course, make-up and props. Common editing skills used in this genre, to elaborate its stories are jump cuts, split screens, cut aways, and fade outs. Examples of drama films include, “The Godfather”, “Boogie Nights”, and “12 Angry Men”. Elements from this genre I find appealing are the serious presentations the movies are presented in. An element that does not appeal to me is the fact that throughout the film we have to worry about the main characters mental state. It’s not something I personally find interesting.

Genres I Would Like to Research

 Today we’ve chosen 3 genres we want to research. We chose these three by picking ones that are similar with our pitch. We wanted to place our film in a category that made sense. We chose the genres drama, crime, and thriller. We picked the drama genre because it involves a conflict between the characters. In this case this genre would relate to our pitch because the conflict would be between the people who are being suspected of murdering the woman. In our pitch a crime is committed and, it’s going to be solved. The crime genre has multiple sub genres. But most of the films and stories in this drama are about crime investigations. They generally don’t feature or show stuff that happens in the courtroom. The key elements  of this genre include suspense and mystery. This genre relates to our pitch, because it includes a criminal investigation. In order for us to figure out who killed the woman in our pitch a criminal investigation will have to take place. Suspense is also included, as we try to figure out who the killer is. Finally, the  thriller genre. This genre is mainly characterized by the mood it gives off. Known for the suspense it creates, excitement, surprise and anticipation. This goes with our pitch because my part and I would also like to create some sort of tension while telling the story. We don’t want viewers bored while the crime is being figure out, or when we found out the ladies dead . We want that little spin of suspense, And anticipation.

I think picking one genre to put our film under is going to be quite a challenge.