Genre Choice for Film

The three genres researched by our group were action, horror, and thriller. In our research for the action genre we found consistencies that greatly contribute to the aspects of action films that make them what they are. Some of these consistencies were appealing to us, such as the building of suspense, gradual building of sounds, jump-cut and action match editing techniques, and the common settings. However, the prolonged chase scenes, weapons and martial arts, and dangerous stunts are not among the characteristics we are looking for for our film. We are glad that we chose to research action films because, although our movie will not be within the genre, we will certainly take advantage of the different features we can adopt in order to enhance the quality of our final product. Following action, we chose to research the horror genre since our pitch sets the scene for a somewhat suspenseful and eerie film. Within our horror research we found the editing techniques to be the most helpful and appealing parts of the films. The use of cut away and eyeline matches to portray the message in the film will be beneficial to our movie. Yet, the genre fell short when we attempted to match it to our film due to the use of gruesome props and actions as well as the dark color scheme. When we researched the thriller genre we were automatically very attracted to its conventions. The fast pace, the emotional behavior of the characters, and the more chaotic/suspenseful filming style could all make significant contributions to the outcome of our film. In addition to these, the camera shots and angles that are usually consistent within the thriller genre will also be extremely favorable in our own filming process. There was very little overall that we did not like about thrillers. We are hoping our film will be able to deliver a very powerful message to our audience, 2020 has been quite the year and all of a sudden the notion of a virus that overtakes the world and changes the lives of so many is not so bizarre and actually quite imaginable. With the fast pace we will have acquired from thriller movies, we should be able to create a complete and well-developed storyline in our limited time frame. In our film we are also planning on there being a number of scenes that create a heightened sense of anxiety. Our pitch: “Friends go on a trip together and the world suddenly gets shut down by a virus. The virus is much more powerful than expected.” is already conveying intensity and creating the prospect of a high stress situation. One of our favorite things about our film, that also helped us to come up with the pitch, is our plan to include a plot twist at the end; the thriller genre only contributes to this inclusion and helps enhance its overall effect. As of right now we don’t think that our pitch will need to be tweaked, but there is still a lot to be determined as we move forward with the process. The thriller genre fits our current pitch almost perfectly and we are so excited to use it as a basis for our movie.