Previously, my class was assigned to complete the first part of what would be our mid term. The mid term which we had to complete included 5 sections and some of which were a bit lengthy. In this blog, I will be posting about Section 3 of the mid term assignment.
Part A: Setting
The setting of a film represents where the story takes place, for example: a beach, an airport, etc. Setting is significant because knowing where the film takes place gives the audience an idea of what happens in the film. Elements of setting include: Time Period, Location, Climate/Season, Landscape or outdoors/city/country/sea/dessert, Culture/People (moral attitudes/core beliefs).
The time period of the movie was based off of 2013. Apparently, some people connote the number "13" as something bad, although, the film was only based off of 2013 was because the book it was based off of the book version which was published in 2013 and was referring to the present day.
The location of the film took place in an abandoned house. This setting location was chosen because a lot of horror movies take place in abandoned houses. The season was fall; the falling leaves indicate loss of life, coldness and the color of the leaves isn't very bright which instills fear in the audience.
The film included both a suburban city and a forest with a river. An empty city indicates that something happened which caused people to die or evacuate, leaving the the place completely abandoned. Forests, however, are not an ideal place for humans to settle, which is why not a lot of people were in the forest to start with.
For culture and/or people, some people within the film believe that this "entity" will "cleanse the world". Other characters believe that there are two types of people in the world: The assholes and the dead. An entity cleaning the world would most likely mean the death of humans which fits into a horror genre. The "assholes and the dead" statement indicates that one would have to be selfish to survive and survival is also included in horror genres.
Moving onto the Social and Economic status of the world of the film, there appears to be almost no one in the city or the forest. Meaning that their social and economic status aren't in their best state. The economic status would not affect a horror genre as much but the social status of almost no one in a specific area means that the area is dangerous for any survivors.
Part B: Set Design
Set Design in film is the décor and props in the shot. Décor also helps to show what is happening in the film, but its more important job is to add to the setting and emphasize the genre of the film and make the film genre clearer to the audience.
The item/objects you see on the shelves in a bedroom is décor, like the vase full of flowers or a picture of a character's family. Décor also gives the audience somewhat of an idea of where the shot takes place (ex. plates, utensils, a vase of flowers and pictures on the shelves would tell the audience that the scene takes place in a house).
Props are basically important objects in the film that help the audience to decode what is currently happening in the scene. Sometimes, the significance of props involve the actors as well. Their interaction with the props helps the audience to decode many things from what is happening, to their emotions.
The image above shows the woman and the two children in a room and the wall behind them is painted with a forest theme. The painting shows that maybe the woman likes to paint and since they were in the forest for so long, she decided to paint a forest picture.
The image presents the woman and the two children going into the boat. I can connote that they are preparing to row down the river.
Part C: Acting
Acting refers to the art of human representation or interpretation of a character within a media production. Elements of acting include: Appearance, facial expression, boy language and vocal qualities.
The physical appearance of the actor is important to acting. Whether the actor is physically suitable in the role is just as essential as their ability to act. The appearance of the character that I chose to analyze has white complexion, is bald, and looks about 60-65 years old. Looking/being old fits horror genres because of the wrinkles on their faces, it gives the character descriptions that do not match beauty and horror genres do not match beauty either.
A facial expression shows the character's emotion and tells the audience how the character would react to certain situations. Most of the time, he looks depressed and other times, he is slightly upset. Depression and anger are signs of vulnerability to the antagonists of horror films, hence why they fit with the genre so well.
Body Language refers to the actor controlling their body to give a certain expression in a media production. He points guns at people sometimes, his posture is mostly defensive but if he is relaxed, the audience can tell that he is somewhat old. Defensive body language means that he could be in danger which, again, fits the genre of horror.
Vocal qualities are the many ways someone can speak and sometimes, the way someone speaks in a media production can be more important than what they actually say. Vocal qualities often set the mood of the dialog and tell the audience what to feel when they say their dialog. When he is upset, he does yell a lot and has a slow pace of speech. Also, he has an American accent. Slow pace of speech instills fear in the audience and yelling asserts authority which fits with the horror film.
Personality refers to the character being formed by a union of qualities or characteristics. He has a protective and rational personality. He has a certain attitude that shows the audience that he was raised by wolves. Protective attitudes and rationality are both representations of danger and survival which both fall into the category of horror.
A role is a job assigned to someone or something. In media production, a role refers to how a person is supposed to act to represent the character in the film. He seems like the protector of the group. The one who no one listens to and ends up dying because of someone else’s action. Dying to someone else’s actions shows the audience that that person was selfless and tried protecting the group from something or someone dangerous. Therefore, the audience knows that the film’s genre is horror.
The role of the character determines expected acts. Douglas delays a mentally ill man from killing Malorie and the two babies and ends up dead whilst the man is still alive but hurt because he shot him. Sacrifice, death, killing, mental illness and blood are all factors of the genre horror.
Rating Actors:
Malorie (Sandra Bullock) - I think that the actor did a good job if the producers were aiming for someone that still pushed through the apocalypse even after having a child and taking care of another.
Douglas (John Malkovich) - The actor for this character also did a decent job considering that he is almost completely heartless, protective and sensible at the same time.
