Title Research: Hostage

We choose the movie "Hostage" from the website https://www.watchthetitles.com/

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
The amount of title sequences that are displayed in the opening scene of Hostage are 35.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are buildings, cop cars, crime investigation tape, a variety of guns, cops that are heavily armed, barbed wire.

What connotations do the images carry?
The connotations the images carry are that it is an intense action filled movie, it involves a lot of crime and there is probably an investigation or search for somebody. There is a lot of violence involved.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma when the images of the heavily armed officers, detective tape, and all of the weapons are displayed.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

By creating a curious mood when showing the weapons and heavily armed officers, it gets you thinking what is the need for all the weapons and the detective tape. The music choice also is appealing to the audience, it creates an intense mood.

How has technology been used effectively?

Technology is being used effectively by editing, names of the produces can be seen across a building or on a gun. It is also being used by using transitions like fade ins/outs and jump cuts.

Title Research: Manhunt

We got the movie "Manhunt" from the website www.watchthetitles.com
How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
The amount of titles that are displayed during the opening sequences is nine.
What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
In the opening scene there is primarily images of Osama Bin Laden who the movie focuses on. As the title sequence progressed there was evidence about the manhunt for Bin Laden.
What connotations do the images carry?
The connotations the images carry are negative as they are all depicting terrorists who committed serious crimes harming thousands of people. This sets the stage for the rest of the movie where the "Manhunt" for Bin Laden takes place.
How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The movie is a crime movie so the genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by understanding that somebody committed a crime. This was done by moving through the title sequence as if somebody was connecting pieces of evidence to each other.
How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma by using handwritten evidence about the manhunt in the title sequence. In fact, at any point during the sequence if the viewer were to pause and examine the text they would see relevant information to the film.
What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
Creating a mysterious mood by opening up with pictures of Osama Bin Laden and what seems to be evidence used in the "manhunt" when searching for him. This draws the viewer interest by showing the extreme amount of detail which the movie is going to explain a situation that most are already familiar with in less detail.
How has technology been used effectively?
Technology is being used effectively especially with the editing in the opening sequence where we move around on a piece of paper to different pieces of evidence. Also the sequence contains many images which dissolve in and out of the picture.

Title Research: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

We got the movie "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" from the website www.watchthetitles.com
How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
The amount of titles that are displayed during the opening sequences are 26.
What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
There are buildings and a person hopping over the fence and running into a warehouse. There is a gun being fired and a house filled with people. One girl is pushed off the house. There are bullets as well with blood.
 What connotations do the images carry?
The connotations the images carry are that a woman ends up dying and a man is running from something. Meaning a person is in trouble for committing a crime with a gun.
How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The movie is a crime movie so the genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by understanding that crime movies usually involve action and what we see in the title sequence is that it involves that. The equipment that is used fits the crime aspect. A gun, blood, a person running from something.
How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma by creating a curious aspect by having a man jump a fence and start running and where a female is pushed off of a house.
What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
Creating an mysterious mood by opening up with a man jumping the fence and then transitioning to a woman holding a gun. With a woman falling to the ground it creates suspense and start to make you wonder how did it happen.
How has technology been used effectively?
Technology is being used effectively by using the camera angles like tracking shots and zoom as well. The editing consists of fade ins/outs, cutaways, inserts, and jump cuts.

Title Research: Seven

We got the movie "Seven" from the website watchthetitles.com. How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? The number of titles that are shown during the opening sequences is 31. What images are prioritized in the in the opening sequence? There is someone that is writing about what it seems to be like some people who are deceased. There is some harm done with a needle that was used to make a book. Pictures of people's faces and words are getting crossed out with a sharpie. What connotations do the images carry? The connotations the images carry are that a guy is writing a book about the crimes that he committed. He is most likely a psychopath. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The movie is a crime movie so it's being reinforced by showing what crime movies usually have in the genre such as blood, people dying, and a "bad" guy. How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? The film establishes an enigma by giving a very mysterious vibe by having an unknown individual writing weird stuff in a book. What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? Creating the creepy mood by showing a guy bleeding and crossing people face out. With the needle going through his finger it gives mysterious feeling about him. How has technology been used effectively? Technology is being used effectively by using a black and white filter through the intro and the jump cuts and cutaways gives a weary feeling.

Title Research:Watch the titles

We used this website to look for movies in our genre and saw how they did their titles. This website gives us the ability to access movies for free and watch the beginning to see how it is laid out. There are many choices of movies with a variety of genres. This website has both TV shows and movies, we are only supposed to look at movies. Our genre, crime had many choices of movies on this website. We were very pleased  to see how many crime movies were available to watch.  The reason we are researching titles in the first place is, in our movie we need to set up the title just like it was the beginning of a real movie. By watching how other crime movies do it, we can do our titles alike so it looks more professional. We can learn tactics used by crime movies and use similar tactics in our film. This website gives us a great opportunity, one not only to acquire these movies for free but also we now have the opportunity to watch a crime movie. Not only will we watch movies in our genr Not only will we watch movies in our genre but also others to see the differences and how they set it up and use different tactics. When doing our final project we will look back and remember how other movies in this genre started their films and we will use their strategy to our advantage. This website was great, by watching the first couple minutes of movies that are similar to what we want we learned so much. I am very excited to start the filming process and apply my new knowledge about titles to our film. This website was very helpful, we will take advantage of this and apply the new tactics we learned to our crime genre film. 

Title Research: Art of the Title

We used this website to look for movies in our genre and saw how they did their titles. This website gives us the ability to access movies for free and watch the beginning to see how it is laid out. There are many choices of movies with a variety of genres. This website has both TV shows and movies, we are only supposed to look at movies. Our genre, crime had many choices of movies on this website. We were very pleased  to see how many crime movies were available to watch.  The reason we are researching titles in the first place is, in our movie we need to set up the title just like it was the beginning of a real movie. By watching how other crime movies do it, we can do our titles alike so it looks more professional. We can learn tactics used by crime movies and use similar tactics in our film. This website gives us a great opportunity, one not only to acquire these movies for free but also we now have the opportunity to watch a crime movie. Not only will we watch movies in our genr Not only will we watch movies in our genre but also others to see the differences and how they set it up and use different tactics. When doing our final project we will look back and remember how other movies in this genre started their films and we will use their strategy to our advantage. This website was great, by watching the first couple minutes of movies that are similar to what we want we learned so much. I am very excited to start the filming process and apply my new knowledge about titles to our film. This website was very helpful, we will take advantage of this and apply the new tactics we learned to our crime genre film 

Genre Research Scarface

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie Scarface tracking shots, low angles, over the shoulder,  and pan. The shots and movements that were used were: establishing shot, tracking shot, medium shot, close up, long shot, and wide shot



Common CLAMPS in this movie: For costumes, there was tourist looking clothing as they were in Miami. Moreover they also had nice clothes like suits ad dresses. For lighting it was mostly sunny during the day as the were in Miami Florida. For acting it was serious, tense, curious. For makeup there was fake blood and wounds. For props there were guns, cars, and bottles. The setting is Miami beach.



Common sound in the movie: The movie uses dialogue, which introduces a serious and dramatic tone



Common editing in the movie: The movie used very simplistic editing techniques as it was created in 1983



Elements of the genre in the movie: The movie is a crime movie about a criminal refugee from Cuba who moved to Miami Florida after being sent to the United States by Castro. He became one of the largest drug king-pens in south Florida however his urge for money and power ultimately got him killed.



What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like?

The best part of the movie was that it ultimately taught a great lesson about how greed can lead to one's demise while also demonstrating a great deal of action as the main character killed a bunch of people before getting killed.



What elements of the genre did the movie have that do not appeal to you?

We did not like how the main character killed his best friend which was very sad

Genre Research Joker

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie ‘Joker’, zooms, over the shoulder, low and high angles, medium shots, tracking shots, close up, establishing shots are commonly used.

Common CLAMPS in the movie: For costumes, it was more natural clothes depending on the setting, more of a dark clothing. For lighting it was pretty dark during the night and day. For acting it was very tense and serious with a slight bit of humor. For makeup there was fake blood, scars, paint, and wounds. For props there were guns, mask, cars, trains. The setting is Gotham City (New York).

Common Sound in the movie: The movie uses mostly dialogue from the characters.

Common editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to another.

Elements of the Genre in the movie: The movie consists of someone that is mentally ill going through a tough time in life. Now he has to find a way to get himself from feeling down all the time.

What elements of the Genre did the movie had that you like: We liked how the movie went into how the main character felt and what he had to go through.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you?
We did not like how the violence escalated so much at the end of the film.

Genre Research Girl On The Train

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie the Girl On The Train, tracking shots, zooms, high angles, low angles, point of view shot, over the shoulder, and pan. The shots and movements that were used were: establishing shot, tracking shot, medium shot, close up, long shot, and wide shot


Common CLAMPS in this movie: For costumes, there were basic clothes, law enforcement clothes, darker clothing. For lighting it was dark filmed during both day and night. For acting it was serious, tense, curious. For makeup there was fake blood and wounds. For props there were golf clubs, a gun, cars, a train. The setting is New York City.


Common sound in the movie: The movie uses dialogue, the main actor Rachel is narrating the movie as things happen.


Common editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to the other.

Genre Research Bad Boys

Common CAMs in the movie: In the movie, Bad Boys For Life, low and high angles, medium shots, and tracking shots are commonly used.
Common CLAMPS in the movie: For costumes, it was law enforcement clothes and black clothes, for lighting it was dark and filmed at night and also filmed in the day. for acting it was quite serious, curious, and tense, for make up gunshot wounds was often and blood, for props a gun is used, cars, and for setting it is in the city of Miami.
Common Sound in the movie: The movie uses non-diegetic and diegetic sounds.
Common Editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to another.
Elements of the Genre in the movie: The movie consists of someone getting arrested. There is a police station with two cops as the main characters. Tracking down information.
What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like?
We like how the two cops ended up arresting the person and getting justice once and for all.
What elements of the genre did the movie have that do not appeal to you?
We did not like how throughout the movie, the characters were being more comedic than rather being serious.

Genre Research Genre

Blog:2 Another genre we are considering for our movie is Crime. The crime genre consists of crime fiction, detective story, and  murder mystery. The CAMS for our genre are:

Camera angles: High angled/Birds eye view, Tracking or Panning, Reverse, Tilted angle, low angle, high angle, two shot, Over the shoulder shot.

Camera Movements/Shots: Close up, Medium shot, Extreme close up, Establishing shot, Long shot, Medium close up, Medium long shot.


The CLAMPS for this genre are:

Costumes: Darker clothes, Law enforcement gear.

Lighting: Dull, Darker lighting, mysterious lighting.

Acting: Serious, Curious, Tense, Gloomy. (Al Pachino, Ice-T, Robert De Niro)

Makeup: Wound, Blood, Make you look sick

Props: Fake Weapon, Cars, Cigarettes, Money, Fake blood, Fake guts.

Setting: Everyday places, neighborhoods, little cities, big cities


The other genre we looked into was Horror. This PowerPoint shows the CAMS and CLAMPS.


The genre we will be using for our movie is the crime genre. This genre matched our movies' characteristics and was the best fit. We choose this genre because the movies that are classified under this genre are alike ours. At first we thought our movie would fall under the horror genre but after research, crime fit best. This genre consists of detective stories and murder mystery, which our movie falls into. After doing the CAMS and CLAMPS for this genre it was obvious the genre was the one. I am very excited to make this movie.

Genre Research Intro

 In this powerpoint, we were told to create one on a genre that we found interesting. We had to research the genre and find specific aspects. We had to find the common lighting, common camera angles, and the camera movement. Also the common mis-en-scene, elements of genre, and examples of movies that show the genre. We put in the powerpoint what we did and did not like in the example of movies. Researching about genres was pretty interesting. This showed us how to find each aspect of a genre and how much common things were found.

Pitch time

After last class my group and I were left with three pitches and we now have to decide on one. My group mates and I first narrowed down our three pitches to just two. The two we chose were:

After the mysterious murders of citizens throughout a small town a detective seeks to find the man who did it before he kills again

A transaction of money and envelope, dad leaves his kid home, forgets to lock the door, kid is taken, police question and try to solve

Starting with pitch one, this was one of the first pitch ideas my group an I came up with when assigned the task. There are a few pro's of this pitch. First, is that it gets right to the central idea of what the movie will be about. This is especially important when you can only use one 25 word sentence. This pitch also creates some suspense as it identifies that the main character has some sort of timeframe to solve the mystery. This effect is created by explaining that the detective must find the culprit of a series of murders before he acts again. On the other hand, my group and I found this to be a very generic idea as we heard many other groups in the class talking about doing their final task on a murder mystery as well. 

The second pitch is about the kidnapping of a child and the investigation which follows. My group and I really liked this idea when we came up with it in class and we all are leaning towards it being our choice for the final task. This is primarily because we believe that this would not only be an interesting film but also because it is a realistic option for our final task. The only negative that we see with this pitch is the clarity of it as it may be difficult to depict what our movie would be about based solely on the pitch. However, we believe that it does not give too much away about the motives of the kidnapping while also explaining that somebody paid to have the child taken.

We decided to go with the second pitch as opposed to the first one. This was because we found that the second pitch was a more original idea than the murder mystery as we believed the murder mystery idea to be generic. This was because we heard many other groups share a similar idea to ur first pitch. Additionally, we believed that the second pitch would be more realistic for us to film as we do not have to show somebody getting killed. Although the first pitch is written better we preferred the idea of the second pitch. Overall we determined that our second pitch would give us the best chance to make our final task as good as possible ultimately leading us to this decision.

Start of Final Task

Hello, my name is Jontae and coming from break I am ready to begin our next assignment. While I traveled around the country playing basketball I was absolutely elated to come just for this class. This year I started 11th grade and it has not been easy. Balancing all of the school work, basketball, and my social life is a very tough task. But, I have been working on it and I am improving everyday. My sleeping schedule has been off a little since I get home so late from our games. I made a lot of new acquaintances in these last couple of months. I think I have opened up to people more. As we start our final task, I decided to work with the same group with Edguardo, Fulvio, and Michael. Like they say if it is broke don't fix it.

I have learned many things this school year from taking just media. The best thing that I learned is Procrastination is your worst nemesis. I know everyone says that, but this year right out of the gate I learned something was going to have to change. Doing all the research for a music video or commercial is time consuming. Add in all the planning you have to then executing your plan can get really stressful at times. After the commercial we realized this was class that was going to require to do our work ahead of time. Now I say this as I am typing this a couple of minutes before it is due, but I really did become better. One thing that I also learned is that I kinda enjoy filming things. I like to a movie or commercial come together in my head and it come out exactly how I pictured it. Now I am saying it has been extremely fun to take this class.

  We recently learned what a pitch was in class. Now before this the only pitch was in baseball or softball. In Hollywood a pitch is an idea where a film is summarized in 25 seconds or less. Our first pitch was there's a transaction of money and envelope, dad leaves kid home alone, forgets to lock door, kid is taken, police question and try to solve. Our second one is after the mysterious murders of citizens throughout a small town a detective seeks to find the man who did it before he kills again. Our last one is 3 men were planning to rob a millionaire while he goes on his daily run but he is aware of what is about to happen.