Looking for a Fitting Genre

 Hello again! I'm back with some research on how to stylize my film opening to better fit into a genre, in order to facilitate the hypothetical marketing of this film. However, instead of adhering to just one traditional genre, I want to look into a fusion of two types of film, so that the film doesn't fit into the mold too much. In my research, I will describe conventions and give examples of each kind of genre opening I aim on stylizing my film after. These genres will be comedy, horror, and the creatively named "comedy horrors".

I chose these genres to study because of different aspects in my film opening that would fit with each genre, and resulting in a mix of both comedic and horror styles. The start of the opening starts with two friends just making fun of people, and follows them throughout a comedic sequence of the two spying on the suspect killer. I plan on borrowing comedic techniques for this section of the opening, while I will take inspiration from various horror techniques to shoot the end of the opening, which takes a darker, dramatic turn as the audience witnesses a murder happen before them- and also unveiling the real identity of the serial killer. It is through my research on film openings from these genres that I will find techniques that I can implement in my own film.

Comedy Study- 21 Jump Street

Cinematic poster for the film

The first genre I chose to study was comedy, and for an example film, I chose to study 21 Jump Street. The film centers around two police officers (played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) who are tasked with infiltrating a high school drug operation, leading for them to go undercover and relive high school, allowing for them to try to fix the mistakes they made when they originally went to school. Throughout the film, the pair grow closer together and become more skilled in different fields, all while going through hijinks and ridiculous scenarios in order to not get busted as undercover cops. The film is an adaption of a television series from the late 1980s, and would receive a sequel movie 2 years after its massive success at the box office. You can find the opening for the movie right here.

In the comedy genre, there are a variety of techniques and conventions that are typical of most comedy films. The most notable of these conventions is the film's focus on characters. Comedy movies tend to make the main character an example of a stereotype, like a antisocial nerd or a bumbling jock, because of the jokes that can be written around these characters' flaws. In other cases, films introduce a cast of characters, instead of just one main character, that are all flawed in one way or another, or also all caricatures of certain types of people, which allows for characters to bounce off each other and have funny interactions between them, as well as providing stark contrasts between characters, which may be comedic in of itself.

Additionally, comedy films tend to open with very public settings (for example an office, school, or party), either setting the tone of what sort of humor the movie will contain, providing context for how the main character(s) may interact with others, and most importantly, providing the main character for an opportunity to embarrass themselves, which is a typical source of humor in a lot of movies. A personal detail that I've noted in comedy movies from my own observations (I love comedy films and consume them almost exclusively) is that cinematography is not used as a major way to tell an unspoken story, unlike other genres. In comedies, most shots are typically medium or long shots, not playing with the angles of shots to illustrate dynamics, and camera movement doesn't really evolve past your typical tracking shot or dolly shot. I've interpreted this decision as a director's attempt to keep the film feeling "real", because people can find more humor in ridiculous characters doing hilarious things when it is presented as something realistic, from a realistic perspective, rather than through an artistic lens.

The differences in their respective characters
is illustrated by costume design in addition
to their interactions.

These techniques are all utilized and sometimes highlighted in the opening of 21 Jump Street. Obviously, the film taps into the "stereotypical characters are friends"  cliché, since the main character duo consists of the average loser nerd and the stupid popular jock. The film initially pits the two against each other, highlighting each of their flaws, and they are both robbed of their prom as a result of their unique problems. However, years later, when they are both presented with another shared problem (passing police school), instead of once again pitting them against each other, the film has them both help the other out in their respective stronger fields, building a friendship between the two and allowing both of them to pass police school. This opening is stronger for it, as it establishes the foundation for their relationship, which is a main focus of the film. while also addressing the flaws of each character in a comedic fashion. The setting of the opening switches from a high school to a police academy, which establishes the background for the connection the main characters have, and also foreshadows their return to high-school, where most of the jokes and humor in the film will then take place.

I'm going to be following some conventions of the comedy genre in my opening, primarily in the beginning, as it focuses on establishing the characters and the setting they are in. Similarly to 21 Jump Street, the main characters in my film will be contrasting archetypes who have become good friends, though instead of showing the process of how they came to be friends, I will be skipping ahead to them already as friends, since their relationship is not the focus of my film. I will also make sure that the setting for the movie is established (mostly taking place in a school) through the part of the opening where the two characters are making fun of other students in a car. Additionally, though it isn't a typical comedy convention, I will also be using a montage to exhibit some funny moments as the plot progresses. However, instead of montages being used to illustrate the growth of a friendship, its primary use will be to show time passing and plot progression without taking too much time in the opening.

Horror Study- IT (2017)

(I hate horror movies... this was painful to research …)

The second genre I decided to research was horror, which was after a long deliberation on what genre I should adhere to when producing the ending part of my film opening. While the hypothetical complete film would follow more of a mystery/ detective feel (cat and mouse chase between the friend who wants to solve a mystery versus the friend who is secretly the killer) or better fit the suspense genre (friend doesn't know that he's friends with the killer while the audience has this knowledge from the start), I didn't really like the stylization of these genres, feeling as if they lacked the impact that I wanted to end the opening with. With this in mind, I turned towards a more horror-inspired ending to the opening, since they typically have a buildup of suspense before releasing it with a scene that would hold the "punch" I want my opening to have.

Official poster for IT (2017)

The example I chose to research as being an example of the horror genre is It (2017). The film revolves around a group of kids, dubbed the Losers' Club, as they investigate and are hunted down by a supernatural menace, a man-eating clown called Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgard). The children get terrorized by Pennywise, investigate the disappearances around town linked to the clown, and mature from children to teenagers through their shared hardships. This film is a remake of a 1990 movie of the same name, and would be followed in 2019 by a sequel (IT 2), and are all based on Stephen King's novel that came out in 1986.In the opening for this film, which you can find here, focuses on the story of Georgie as he follows a paper boat down to a sewer grate, where he meets Pennywise and shortly after, his demise.

Horror movies have a whole slew of conventions specific to the genre, many of which are so striking that an audience can immediately identify the genre of the movie based off of how it looks and sounds. Sound is actually one of the key factors in horror productions, whether it be pertaining to suspenseful scores, shocking stings of audio to scare the audience, or the suffocating loudness of natural noise. All aspects of sound in horror are designed to either keep the audience on edge, or to scare the socks off of them with a sudden blaring sound effect. The score in a horror movie usually vary between slow, menacing, and foreboding tracks and very fast, frantic shrill music, usually played during chase scenes or when the monster/killer is doing their thing. The loudness of sound effects is meant to get the audience to be overloaded my sensory details, by hearing every footstep, every creak in the floor, and every raindrop in a puddle, the audience is put on edge and on alert, captivated in suspense.

Pennywise shrouded in the twilight
of the sewer drain.

Another huge convention in horror movies is lighting.  Almost every horror movie works in darkness, blanketing the entire scene in black and shrouding their monsters with shadow. Darkness in horror movies is crucial to keeping audiences scared- it invokes the basic human fear of the unknown. Horror films usually keep their villains in shadows because of this idea- if the audience has no knowledge on the capabilities or appearance of the antagonist, their own imaginations conjure terrifying images without relying on the film to show the monster itself. And when the full monster is eventually revealed, it serves as a satisfying payoff to the omnipresent suspense that lingers throughout the viewing  of the film. 

The opening to It (2017) perfectly illustrates all of these clichés of the horror genre. The score at first is whimsical and full of childlike wonder as Georgie chases and plays with his paper boat in the rain. The splashing of his steps in the rain is loud and clear as he traverses the street, and when he bumps his head on a sign, the bump is shockingly loud, making it feel much more serious than its played off to be. However, when Georgie meets Pennywise, the music suddenly stops. In this case, silence is deafening, creating an uncomfortable environment as the audience watches a child interact with a figure cloaked in darkness. 

Pennywise as he bites into the boy's arm,
the payoff to the suspense of the opening.

As the clown starts speaking to Georgie with more confidence, a slow, ominous theme starts playing during their conversation, conveying to the audience that something is not right, creating even more suspense as the audience starts to get concerned for Georgie. Then, when Georgie finally reaches his hand into the sewer, we get the loud, brash payoff of the scene, with Pennywise brandishing his terrifying maw and ripping off the boy's arm, accompanied by echoing, deafening music to highlight the horror of the scene, mixed with his sobbing cries for help. He is soon dragged into the sewers with the clown, with the music fading away and the sound of rain fading back in, producing the feeling that what just happened was instantly covered up, and forgotten.

After watching and analyzing this excerpt from It to connect it to aspects of the horror genre, I can safely say: I don't like watching horror movies! I am not a fan of the genre, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the art. My main takeaway after watching this opening was a newfound respect and understanding of how influential lighting and sound can be in a production. The score of a film can tell an unspoken story warning an audience before something happens, and the lighting can keep them scared of the unknown. I will definitely place an emphasis on sound effects and integration during the post production of my film opening. Maybe I will communicate my thoughts with my music producer to have my own unspoken warning in the score of the opening? A personal favorite detail I noted from the opening of It was its use of point-of-view shots from Pennywise's perspective, really nailing the portrayal of how helpless Georgie was against the clown. I may use this technique from the killer's perspective, coupled with some high angles, to sell the idea of the killer triumphing over his victim in my opening.

(Finally, I can stop looking at that demon's face...)

Horror-Comedy Study- Zombieland

The official poster
for Zombieland

And now for the combination of genres, the aptly named horror-comedy genre. For my example of what a horror-comedy film might entail, I chose to use Zombieland (2009), which stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as the main group of characters. The plot revolves around this group coming together during a post-apocalyptic road trip to the last area in the United States left untouched by zombies. The movie would soon be followed by a sequel (Zombieland: Double Tap) a decade later in 2019. The opening follows Jesse Eisenberg's character narrating a montage of people dying in the apocalypse, pointing out each one of their mistakes that led to their demise and organizing them into a set of rules for survival, and then launching into another montage led by heavy rock music as it shows various slow-motion scenes of death in the apocalypse. You can find this opening of the film here.

Since its named after a combination of both horror and comedy genres, one could reasonably assume that most clichés in this subgenre are borrowed from its parent genres. And while this is mostly true, there are certain techniques unique to the horror-comedy genre, as well as adaptations of conventions from other genres. 

Namely, the use of sound and music stands in stark contrast to its application in horror movies. While in horror movies, the score is used as a  narrative device, serving as a sort of harbinger to the violence and horror that will scare audiences, horror-comedies use music as a comedic device to trivialize the horrors the audience is beholding.    The juxtaposition of violence and terror against the ridiculous background of a cheesy pop song or other music genre contrasts the darkness of what the audience hears versus what they can see, which as a result makes the scene less scary, and more comedic.

Example of a slow-motion shot
in Zombieland's opening

Zombieland uses this concept masterfully, coupled with Eisenberg's voiceover, to create a comedic feeling around scenes clearly out of a horror. However, these scenes don't feel nearly as scary because they've been stripped of the typical shrill, intense soundtrack that audiences are accustomed to seeing, and instead being replaced with awesome rock music and a voiceover with a very matter-of-fact tone. This is what sells the idea of the movie's opening being a sort of guide compiled by the main character instead of just a loosely connected montage of violence.

The film also borrows from its horror genre roots with its cinematography, using low angle shots of victims to illustrate their weakness against the zombie onslaught. Moreover, the beginning of the opening even starts with a point-of-view shot, capturing the perspective of a zombie victim and putting the audience in the shoes of someone who's doomed by a zombie attack. The film plays around with perspective and camera movement constantly, showing several angles to almost every scene, giving the impression that Eisenberg's character has
extensively studied and analyzed each of these scenarios to find where the victim made a mistake, providing a good bit of characterization. Most notably, however, is the use of slow-motion shots during the opening credits, giving the audience brief insights into microcosms of post-apocalyptic hijinks, involving a lot of chasing, death, and zombies. This unique stylistic decision is evident of how horror-comedies like to take their horror seriously, but not too seriously.

What I learned after watching this film's opening is how to put together every technique that I've picked up on from the previous genres, while ensuring that these aspects of each genre are blended together without leaving room for awkwardness. Zombieland shows how to take the importance of music and sound from horror films, completely change the way they work for the film, and still manage to keep it meaningful and powerful. While it doesn't give the audience a proper introduction to the main character, the dialogue in his voiceover helps the audience produce an idea of what he's like, and how analytical and nerdy he can be regarding the deaths of random people. 

The use of lighting is also unconventional for the horror genre, trading dingy, dark claustrophobic rooms for the brightly lit outdoors, introducing an aspect of horror that is out of the shadow, fixed on killing you, that is just as effective as preying on the fear of the unknown. If I had to take a lesson from this film opening, it would be that you can venture outside the clichés and styles of your typical horror movie while still being scary, and that you can mix genres that are seemingly completely different to form a interesting, dynamic new genre.

All in all, this has been an intensive analysis on genre conventions with examples that has been extremely informative and educational for me. The research for this blog post spanned over several days, and I don't regret a minute of it, since each new level of understanding of these genres will translate to mastery over the conventions of genres in media and how to succeed in utilizing them in unconventional ways.  I'll be back soon with more news on the creative end of the process! See you then!