Research Genre- Comedy

   (90) What Makes a Movie Funny? — How to Write, Direct, and Edit Comedy - YouTube

 

Comedy is a crucial form of story telling. There are many types of comedies that caught my attention from this film. Here are the main 5 listed below. 

1. Satire comedies. These require deliberate writing that effectively display irony. The definition of the word satire is the art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass the subject.

2. For romantic comedies the humor revolves around the most universal experience, finding love. This includes many disasters and heavy emotions, which then lead the main character to make decisions based off how they feel. Most times, those decisions affect them later.

3. Buddy comedies are when two characters have traits that continuously conflict with each other. It's also very important they have good chemistry to ensure the friendship feels genuine.

For example, in the "Rush Hour" movie, Carter and Lee is a perfect example of a buddy comedy. They both have completely different traits and don't speak the same language but still work well together while still having those funny conflicts along the way.

This is a still from the movie Rush Hour

4. Next, the Farce genre focuses on exaggeration to create humor. This genre uses crazy storylines and over the top characters. This form also has complex plots which encourage viewers to pay attention to the story, not just the humor.

5. Lastly, Slapstick. Which rely on physical humor. Often times, including a character stuck in exaggerated physical activities. 

So far I think me and my group are leaning towards the satire or romantic side of comedy. This is because we feel more interested to it, as it seems more entertaining. 

Research - Comedy film opening

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n539BdNKo0&t=71s

Here are 5 takeaways I got from this video,

Starting with the importance of fully understanding the subject matter. This will help the decision making processs, allowing the story to go down many paths while staying on the subject. Another point I got was, when watching a funny film, analyzing the context and understanding what it is that made it funny will be beneficial when applied to my film. For example, things like the camera angles, tone, and timing all help deliver a joke and these concepts can be reused. Often times comedy is funnier when it comes from a place of truth. This means, when scenarios and character desires are believable, the humor feels more realistic . Unlike when it's just looking for laughs, undermining the humor. The casting can also be important, understanding actors personalities and behaviors can be very affective when they play funny roles. As they can help deliver the humorous tone effectively. Lastly, wide shots are also very beneficial as they capture more of the physical movements that could be working with the character to create the joke. 

Research Genre- Action

(90) Introduction to the Action Genre - YouTube 

After watching this video about action films, here are some big ideas I took. 

The action movie genre is the ultimate form of escapism. This is shown through physical activity and violence, which is a used for solving problems posed by capitalism. Action movies tend to focus on the ability of men to establish their identify through physical actions. 

Note: In an action movie it’s very common for males to have excesses muscles and sweat. With-out focusing on gender, taking note of these details are crucial. It’s impossible to study what defines an action movie by skipping these parts.

Action movies tend to help the audience experience intense fantasy's of power that are due to the movements of the body. Meaning the body language is very important. 

In addition, when woman are the “hero's” viewers experience their femininity as if it had the male characteristics, being that male omnipotent power.  The 'omnipotent body' of the hero can escape the normal capabilities of the human body. Which then allows a male to display female characteristics of femininity, and a female to display male characteristics of masculinity.

Note: Some scholars believe that action movie genres resemble the government through the leading characters body sizes ability's.

For example, when Ronald Reagan was president, action movies focused on larger, stronger men. Whereas when George W. Bush was president, action movies were given to more slim and smaller people. Leaning towards the hero’s intellectual abilities along with some physical attributes.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was used when Ronald Reagan was president 

Tom Cruise was used when George W. Bush was president

Research - Action Film Openings

(90) The Secret to Filming Action That Feels Real | Good vs Great Filmmaking. - YouTube

From this video I learned the importance of motivated camera movement when filming action movies as a cinematographer.

Motivated camera movement: any camera motion that is directly prompted by an action, character, or narrative event within the scene. The main purpose of this is to guide the audience’s attention, mimicking natural vision by following the subject and the viewers eyes would.

For example, motivated camera movements can be used in the introduction of new elements or characters.

Note: Ensuring the camera movement always has a reason is vital. If the camera moves randomly, it will seem as if the cameraman is someone in the scene, disengaging the audience. Rather, if the camera is prompted by characters or action, the movement will feel more natural for the viewers. Allowing the viewers feel apart of the story.

Lastly, camera movement can be motivated by a direct or indirect movement on screen. 

For example, a group of people look behind you, so the camera pans to what they’re looking at. This is called indirect movement. Every camera movement is a choice, and every choice tells the audience something. 

Hello World!

   Hello! My name is Nalani Saige. I am 15 years old, my birthday is on January 5th, 2010. I'd describe myself as kind, loving, and talented. I feel my background has helped shape me into the person I am today. A big reason for that is because I am mixed. Half Jamaican and half Honduran. It really gives me a unique perspective on both cultures. Especially since, those are two places have different traditions, dishes, and music. I'm also the youngest of 5 siblings and I have many younger cousins. As the youngest, growing up, allowed me to feel heard, seen, and loved. My siblings also helped build my character and develop interests I might've never discovered on my own. This kind of bond, I also share with my younger cousins. As I am someone they look up to when they need to brighten up their mood, or be themselves. Being both, the youngest sibling and a role model to my cousins has been a big part of who I am. I also consider myself hardworking. This is because my goal when completing something I do, is to complete it to the best of my abilities. So, when I finish, I know I won't regret not doing more. This mindset allows me to support others and be a shoulder to rely on. Although, I connect with people easily by helping them, my personality also helps a lot too. These traits encourage people to come out of their shell and make them comfortable around me. My favorite movie is "Spiderman Across The Spider-Verse" and here is my favorite clip from it!