Genre

When concentrating on genre, me and my partner narrowed it down to the two we enjoyed most and thought would be most interesting to focus on. These two are thriller/horror and social realism. When studying horror/ thriller we looked back on our previous media coursework to gain inspiration and possible ideas, as well as looking at many current and past movie trailers.

To help me out with the research on film, I recently watched Mark Cousin's 'The Story of Film' television series. He discussed the beginning of horror movies in the 1920's and 30's, and reveals how horror movies get closer to the nervous system than any other film genre. I realised that this is exactly what we want our movie to do also - as connecting with the audience is one of the most important aspects of creating a trailer.

Two examples he used stood out to me the most. Firstly, 'The Golem' made in 1920 directed by Carl Boese and Paul Wegener, this German expressionist film is unique in its storyline as well as its composition. Forming diagonals through interesting use of lighting and setting. Obviously our film will not be as emotionally deep and stark in plot as this film as its subject is based around a mythical creature protecting Jewish families. But I chose to look at it for its unusual sets, the contrast between black and white and the fact that it is a silent film intreeged me.

This film is said to have been an inspiration for James Whale's version of Frankenstein (1931) as we was fond of German cinema. This movie showed a new style and mood, at the same time as being melancholy, but still allowing the monster to be visusually repulsive.  The movie also became the starting point for Universal as horror movies quickly became their trademark. Cousin's discusses how fear became a pleasure for the average movie goer and how Universal began to exploit this.