Genre Research Blog Activity

 Genre: Horror

Target Audience

Horror movies are super popular with teens and young adults (mostly ages 15-35) who love the excitement and rush of being scared. A lot of horror fans enjoy getting that thrill of suspense and fear, especially when watching with friends. It’s also popular with people who like stories that dig into weird, creepy, or mind-bending topics.

Genre Conventions – Content

• Common Themes: Horror movies usually play on our fear of the unknown, the supernatural, and the danger of the “what if.” Themes often include survival against something dangerous, ghostly, or evil. Sometimes, horror movies use monsters or scary situations to talk about real-life fears or social issues.
• Character Types: Horror has a lot of recurring characters, like the one who survives, villains or monsters, and innocent people who get caught up in scary situations.
• Story Elements: Often set in isolated places (like haunted houses, forests, or creepy towns), horror plots involve people facing off against something terrifying or supernatural. The tension builds through unexpected twists, reveals, and jump scares.

Genre Conventions – Production Techniques

• Lighting: Dark and shadowy lighting is key to horror, creating a sense of fear and making viewers feel uneasy.
• Camera Angles: Low and high angles are used to make characters seem powerful or powerless, while close-ups are common to show fear or panic on characters’ faces.
• Sound: Horror often uses creepy music, sudden loud noises, and eerie sounds (like creaking doors) to make scenes more intense.
• Editing: Quick cuts and jump scares keep viewers on edge, and slow-motion is sometimes used to make terrifying moments last longer.

Institutional Conventions – Marketing

Horror movies are usually marketed with trailers that focus on suspense and mystery. Posters often use dark colors, spooky images, and bold, creepy fonts. Horror movies are released around Halloween to add to the eerie vibe, and many of them go viral because of their scare factor, so social media plays a big role in horror marketing.

Film Sample #1: Lights Out (2016)

Lights Out is a supernatural horror film that plays on one of the most basic fears: the dark. The story follows Rebecca, who tries to protect her younger brother, Martin, from a mysterious figure named Diana, who only appears when the lights are off. Diana is a ghostly, terrifying figure connected to their mother’s past, and she only exists in darkness, vanishing when the lights are on.

• Horror Elements: The fear factor in Lights Out is all about shadows and what you can’t see. It builds suspense by making the darkness itself a threat, keeping viewers constantly on edge. The movie doesn’t rely on a ton of blood or gore; instead, it uses that primal fear of what could be hiding in the dark to scare the audience.
• Production Techniques: The film is heavy on visual tricks with lighting. For example, it often shows Diana standing menacingly in the dark, only visible when lights flicker or flash. The filmmakers use quick cuts and low lighting to keep her mysterious, making her scarier since you don’t get a clear view of her. The sound design also ramps up the fear – there are unsettling noises like scratching and echoing footsteps that make the darkness feel alive.
• Themes: Lights Out explores themes of family and mental health, as Rebecca tries to protect her brother from both Diana and the trauma affecting their mom. The story hints at how past trauma can haunt people, literally and figuratively, creating monsters that are hard to face.

Film Sample #2: The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is a classic supernatural horror movie inspired by real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. They’re called in to help a family who just moved into a new house that turns out to be haunted by a powerful, malevolent spirit. Things go from creepy to terrifying as the family starts experiencing terrifying hauntings, and the Warrens try to save them before it’s too late.

• Horror Elements: The Conjuring uses supernatural horror with ghosts, spirits, and possessions. It has tons of jump scares, but it also builds a heavy, scary atmosphere with eerie silences and unsettling visuals, like creepy dolls and haunted basements.
• Production Techniques: The movie uses dark lighting to create shadows and uses sound effects, like whispers and creaking doors, to make you feel uneasy. The camera angles are often close-up to show fear on characters' faces or from weird perspectives, like the spirit’s point of view.
• Themes: At its core, The Conjuring explores the fear of the unknown and forces beyond human control. The idea that evil could hide anywhere, even in your own home, makes it relatable and terrifying for audiences.

Other Examples of Horror Films:

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Hereditary

Paranormal Activity

It Follows

The Shining

Halloween

      

Representation

 Representation in "Modern Family": Analyzing Diversity and Stereotypes

"Modern Family" is widely recognized for its humor and relatability, but it also plays a significant role in representing various types of characters and family structures. By using a mockumentary format, the show allows us to explore the characters' perspectives and biases in a way that feels honest and raw. In this post, we'll analyze how "Modern Family" portrays two of its central characters, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett and Mitchell Pritchett, examining both the positive aspects of their representation and the ways in which they play into stereotypes.

Gloria Delgado-Pritchett: Challenging and Reinforcing Stereotypes

Gloria, played by Sofia Vergara, is a Colombian immigrant married to Jay Pritchett. She represents both a break from traditional portrayals of Latina women and a reinforcement of some existing stereotypes. On one hand, Gloria is shown as a loving mother and wife, fiercely protective of her family and proud of her heritage. Her character highlights the diversity of Latinx culture and brings attention to the challenges immigrants face in a new country.

However, Gloria's character is also sometimes depicted through stereotypical traits, such as her fiery temper, loud voice, and passion for her culture, which can sometimes border on being exaggerated for comedic effect. This duality in her representation raises questions about the fine line between celebrating cultural differences and perpetuating clichés.

Image Source: Modern Family TV Show

Mitchell Pritchett: Representation of LGBTQ+ Identities

Mitchell Pritchett, played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, is another character whose representation is crucial to the show's narrative. As a gay man married to Cameron Tucker, Mitchell's character has helped normalize same-sex relationships on mainstream television. "Modern Family" portrays Mitchell and Cameron's relationship as loving, supportive, and relatable, helping to break down stereotypes about LGBTQ+ couples by showing them as just another part of a modern family.

At the same time, the show sometimes falls back on stereotypical depictions of gay men through Mitchell and Cameron's characters, often portraying them as overly dramatic or fashion-obsessed. While these traits can add to the humor of the show, they also reinforce certain clichés that have been used to define LGBTQ+ characters in media for years. It's a reminder of the delicate balance between using humor to break down barriers and avoiding the pitfalls of reinforcing old stereotypes.

The Broader Impact of Representation in "Modern Family"

"Modern Family" does a commendable job of expanding representation in the media, making viewers reflect on their own biases and stereotypes. Through characters like Gloria and Mitchell, the show offers a mix of progress and limitations, illustrating both the importance of diverse representation and the ongoing struggle to move beyond one-dimensional portrayals. This balance between representation and stereotype is a critical aspect of understanding how media shapes societal perceptions.

Soundscape project

Bringing the Game to Life: My Football Sound Project 

What I Learned During the Sound Lesson and Assigned Videos The sound lesson taught me how powerful sound can be in shaping a story. I realized that even without visuals, you can create an entire scene using just auditory cues. The videos emphasized techniques like layering different sounds, using silence effectively, and understanding how to balance various sound levels to enhance the listening experience. 

Project Instructions 

For this project, we were tasked with creating a 1-2 minute scene using only sound effects to tell the story. The goal was to convey the action and emotion of a scene without relying on visuals. We could only use seven words in the entire scene, and at least four of the sound effects had to be created using everyday objects on a foley stage. My Approach to Completing the Project I chose to create a scene centered around a football game. I wanted to capture the excitement, intensity, and then the dramatic turn of events when a player collapses on the field. This scene allowed me to play with contrasting sounds, from the loud cheers of the crowd to the quiet tension that follows the player's fainting.

 Brainstorming:

 Creating the Game Atmosphere During brainstorming, I imagined everything that could happen in a football game — the sounds of players running on the field, the cheering crowd, and the whistle blows. I wanted to focus on how the atmosphere changes dramatically from the excitement of a touchdown to the shock when a player faints. This helped me to clearly map out the sequence of sounds that would bring the scene to life. 

Organizing Sounds: 

The Outline My detailed outline broke down the scene into four parts: entering the field, the game in progress, the touchdown, and the dramatic faint. Each sound was planned out, like the cleats hitting the field, the players' yells, the crowd cheering, and the sudden silence when the player collapses. This outline was essential to ensuring that the sounds transitioned smoothly and conveyed the right emotions.

 Editing Resources: 

Tools I Used For editing, I used Adobe, which allowed me to layer sounds and adjust the levels to create a realistic atmosphere. I combined sound effects from free online databases like Pixabay and some foley sounds that I created myself, like the sound of the confetti cannons and the players hitting their pads.

What Went Well and What I’d Improve:

I think the layering of sounds to create a realistic game atmosphere was successful. The transition from the excitement of the game to the tense moment when the player collapses felt smooth and dramatic.

What I’d Improve: 

Next time, I would work more on the timing of the sound effects to make the action feel even more synchronized. Some sounds, like the footsteps and the heartbeat, could be better aligned to the character's movements for a more immersive experience.

 Link to the Project:

BalukEspinosa_soundscape_per8

Conclusion:

This project helped me understand the impact of sound design on storytelling. I learned how important it is to carefully choose and layer sounds to guide the audience's emotions and bring a scene to life. I look forward to experimenting more with sound in my future projects!