THE HORROR GENRE

Horror 

Horror is a genre that is meant to scare or shock the audience. It can include creepy places, monsters, or things that seem strange or unnatural. Horror stories or movies make us feel afraid, tense, or surprised by showing things that are spooky, dangerous, or unexpected. The typical audience of this genre are teens between the ages of 15-25. Usually, teens and young adults enjoy thrills more than older adults. 

Content: 

The horror genre is intended to scare or unsettle the audience and represents the darker parts of humanity. When people are going to watch a horror related movie, they expect to be scared.

The theme mostly includes death, violence, survival, darkness and of course fear. There can be supernatural elements like ghosts, witches, vampires, werewolves. Also can address more realistic psychological fears, which is not about what we see on the screen but how it makes us feel, which plays tricks on the audience's mind and create paranoia. The protagonist of the horror stories face dangerous situations and they test their courage and knowledge. And the antagonist has a sinister motivation. 

Another type of horror films and stories are about serial killers. Like the popular Scream films, which are set in the fictional town of Woodsboro. Te film is about a masked killer that is called "Ghostface" who hunts down teenagers. Each movie follows Sidney Prescott, which is the main character. Sydney tries to survive and uncover who is behind the mask. The identity of the killer changes in each film, with different motives and surprises. The series of films is known for its mix of horror and humor.

Production techniques:

Camera shots: Close ups are used specifically in this genre to show the reaction on the character's face, which show their emotions in detail. Dutch angles are also present to add dramatic tension to the shots. Low angles show how intimidating and powerful the villain is.

Editing: The timing on a cut can create a jump scare, which is very common in a horror film. Also pacing changes the speed and number of cuts which control how long the moments of fear last. Parallel editing is also common.

Sound: Horror movies show how efficient sound can be at provoking emotions, and we can hardly imagine a horror movie without sound, it would not be scary at all, we might probably laugh at it. Sound creates the atmosphere in a horror movie, it can be considered the most important part of the horror films. Tension can be raised so much that the audience reactions are likely to be screaming, jumping, or cover their eyes. Suspense is created as music builds up, when a sound or music becomes too loud is because there is something important or scary happening.

Some examples of sound being crucial in horror films can be the film jaws, which has a very recognizable soundtrack that indicates the shark is arriving. Also sound is important in slasher films like halloween and Friday the 13th.                                              Also the sounds of footsteps, breathing, and sound of stabbing or cutting flesh create fear and discomfort.

Mise-en-scene: The setting of horror films is usually dark and isolated or abandoned places that create mystery and fear throughout the film. The props depend on the film and its context, but can be weapons. For example, the chainsaw for Leatherface, Michael Myers' mask and knife. Or can be objects like the Ouija Board.

Colors can include black, red and brown as their meaning is mostly danger. The costumes and make-up of the characters is very important in this genre since they help to create the visual storystelling and give the characters their identity. 

Marketing:

There are a lot of characteristics when it comes to trailers, films, magazines or poster of the horror genre. The trailer is one of the most important tools to generate interest for horror films, it should not reveal or spoil the plot but should catch the viewer's attention by creating fear.They tend to be dark to reflect the themes of the film which are fear and terror. In promotional posters they tend to have dark colors and the color red which aligns with this genre. For example Friday the 13th's poster, which also shows the villain Jason Voorhees, showing the villain in a dark tone helps convey a mysterious threat.

Film Samples:

Child's play is a 1988 horror/mystery film. It is about a boy named Andy who receives a doll he names Chucky, but it is not a normal doll, it is actually possessed by the soul of a serial killer named Charles Lee Ray. He transferred his soul to this doll to escape death by doing a voodoo ritual. The film shows Chucky's attempt to use Andy's body to return to human form. Chucky commits a lot of murders and strikes unpredictably, he blends his friendly appearance with evil, which makes him unique and a very fearful villain. At the end, Andy's mother and a detective fight to stop Chucky before it was too late. There are a lot of close up shots and over the shoulder shots while showing the victim's surprise reaction by seeing a doll walking, talking and lastly murdering them. There are 2 more Child's Play films and an additional 6 Chucky related.

Final Destination is a horror film series that include six films. The films have the same idea, there a group of friends who escape death after one of them has a premonition of a catastrophic event which is a deadly accident (like the plane crash in the first movie). After they avoid death, they discover that death follows them, they start dying by fatal accidents in unexpected ways. The remaining survivors must figure out a way of cheating death and change their destinies. The agonist is death in this films, it operates by its own rules which makes sure those who escaped get their fate. It is unique since it is different from other horror movies which have a human killer. It is a terrifying movie because we as audience know that the characters cannot escape their fate and the deaths happen through every day objects and situations which makes it relatable.

More examples: 

Get Out (2017)

It (2017)

The Exorcist (1973)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

Prom Night (2008)

Hereditary (2018)

TV show representation

My favorite TV Show is called 'Eva Lasting'. It is a Colombian TV show released in 2021. The story is mainly held in Jose Maria Root High School, where a mysterious teen girl called Eva, arrives at this all boys school of 600 students, in the 1970s in Bogota, Colombia. 

Eva Samper is the protagonist of the story, she is intelligent and has a lot of knowledge about literature and the real world. She is courageous, and even though she is in a school crowded by 600 males, she is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Eva befriends mainly Camilo Granados, along with his group of friends. She starts breaking stereotypes and some rules in the story.

The use of construction is seen through various camera angles, sound and editing techniques. From the moment that Eva is shown entering the classroom for the first time, her character is shown to stand out. The show has a variety of shots, but mostly made of medium shots, two shots, and close ups. The medium shots are the most seen, showing the character's interactions.The two shots are notorious, showing Eva and Camilo. Along with the close ups, showing the emotions of each character. Through this angle construction, the show emphasizes how Eva breaks the female stereotypes at her school, shown as strong and independent, which differs to the traditional female roles in the 1970s.

Additionally, the use of diegetic, non-diegetic sounds and music, evoke feelings of tension, to let the audience analyze and understand better the scenes and characters. There is a lot of music involved in this show, all being from the 1970s, which add more sense of this era. The theme song is called " La primera vez" and is frequently used throughout the story. It serves as a powerful motif, showing key moments.

additionally, upbeat music is shown when Eva appears, showing her importance. Plus, there is a very important voiceover from the adult version of Camilo, who is the narrator of the story. Which adds depth, and lets see into his internal struggles and growth. It not only personalizes the story but also lets the audience know of the lasting impact of Eva on his life and perspective. There is a shift of his view towards women, and does not care anymore about the societal expectations of masculinity. That is due to Eva's influence in her open-minded thoughts, which were not accepted back then. 

Another important aspect of this Show is the details of the houses, streets, places, schools and clothing. When you watch it, it feel like if you were in the actual 1970s. Due to the amazing job at editing, everything was more natural and realistic. The group's hang out place is an arcade, which could represent a symbol as well, they always go there to solve problems and do important things.

One of the most important aspects of this show is how it de-centers the male view and also offers a female narrative. As most seen, shows of just male environments, tend to focus on male characters and their experiences. However, by centering the story on Eva, changes the perspective to show how a woman navigates a space full of males. Which is important for representing Eva as a complex character. She serves as a person for her male friend's growth, particularly Camilo, that re-examines his views of women.

Eva’s character is shown as intelligent and strong, but at the beginning, it is shown how she is "othered" within the school environment. The boys often view her as an exotic figure, since they had never been in the same environment with a female, apart their mother or sisters. They looked at her as someone who didn't belong in their world.The exoticizing is seen in the way other male characters initially romanticize her and treat her as an outsider who is fascinating. However, as the series progresses, rather than being othered, Eva earns respect from her male friends by noticing her individuality and intelligence. This shows the ideal back then about women being different and inferior than males, but it was the exception for Eva due to her character.

Also, evidently, there is use of stereotypes. Like how Eva is shown as a free spirit, often compared with conventional female characters, who are often shown as  conforming and obedient. The show uses these stereotypes to critique how women are traditionally seen in the society and makes the audience re-evaluate their perceptions. Analyzing this, Eva is not just a simple character but a representation of social change.

The representation used for 'Eva Lasting' shows in depth the challenges women had to go through in a sexist era of the 1970s in Colombia. However, showing Eva's character of courage and independence, the series illustrates she is breaking barriers, standing up for her believes and making crucial changes for the future.

SOUND PROJECT

In this second project, we were assigned to tell a story with just sound, which included sound effects and foley sounds. Ms. Stoklosa provided us some sound effect databases and assigned to do at least four sound effects by ourselves, using random objects. The story would have to happen in a literal 1-2 minute timeline.  

I was absent to class when we started working on the project and brainstorming, so I started working at home and coming up with ideas and real life scenarios that would be the best to tell the story through just sound. Out of the three ideas that I had considered , I chose to do my project about a girl that makes a quick stop at a grocery store. 

After I had my story, I did my soundscape outline, in chronological order, to know specifically what sounds I was going to be using. I thought about all the sounds I hear when I go to the grocery store and broke my story in five scenes: 

1. Entering the grocery store: Door opening and closing, ambience sound of the grocery store, people talking, register beeping, shopping carts, slight music on the background.

2.Grabbing the snacks: Footsteps, grabbing a bag of chips, "oh celsius" (used as a reminder to buy the energy drink), open and close fridge. (including the past sounds slightly in the background, to keep the ambience sounds of the setting)

3. Making the line in the register: Footsteps, beeping increasing (showing approach to register), "hello" and "good evening" (cashier and girl), putting snacks on the register counter, two beeps (chips and celcius), opening and closing zipper (to take out card to pay), enters the pin, receipt prints, plastic bag sound, "thank you" (from the girl). 

4. Leaving the store: Footsteps, open and close door, cricket sound (to show it's night), more footsteps, plastic bag sound, car keys sound, parking lot ambience, cars passing by, car unlocking.

5. Getting in the car: Open car door and close, bag sound, turning car on, engine sound, can of Celcius open, sips, put can away, sound of nails in touchscreen of car, music, drive away. 

In the soundscape outline made, I had put kids running and a sigh from the girl, to add something else. I was going to add it but I decided not to because I figured it was irrelevant in the story. I also had put that when the girl gets in the car, she opens the window and did not add it either because of the same reason. Those were the only changes I made from the outline, I also had to have in mind that I could not exceed the 2 minute timeline.

But with the breakdown previously showed, all the sounds I used to tell this story are there, to tell the story the best way possible. When choosing the sounds, I searched them on sound effect data bases and also made several foley sounds: Footsteps (with my sandals), grabbing bag of chips (with some labels and scrunching them), fridge opening and closing (using my fridge), car key sounds (with normal keys), put can away (putting my water cup into the table) and lastly the sound of nails of touchscreen (with my nails touching my computer). The video of my foley sound making: https://youtu.be/hRfw4cVKwnM

After I had my sounds, I arranged them together and started editing. I wanted it to sound the smoothest way possible. I watching tutorials on youtube, since I had never done something like this. I struggled in some parts of the sound effects, but I managed to improve it by fading the sound effects and decreasing and increasing the intensity of each sound when I thought it was more convenient. Overall, I think I did a good job in this project and I enjoyed making it as well, it was a very fun thing to do. 

The link to my project: https://youtu.be/UD2MOJeF8us