Scream Opening Analysis

On Sunday I researched the history and techniques used in horror films. Today I decided to analyze the opening scene for "Scream". I've already seen this scene however this time I wanted to see if I could spot any of the techniques that I researched yesterday or even find some new techniques.

The scene consists of a girl at home alone who receives a phone call from a wrong number. This was definitely a very calculated decision as it makes the scene much scarier because it is something that could happen to anyone, and is something that happens very often. As she is talking to the man, her expressions are very happy and normal; however when the phone rings again, although nothing truly concerning has happened, she turns around with a slightly concerned expression. This sets the intended tone and shows the viewers that this is no ordinary wrong number.

Also, a very important technique to take note of is that during the second call, the camera is angled slightly to the left (dutch angle). This is one of the techniques that I talked about in the last post. It is meant to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and I think it accomplishes just that.

Once she picks up the phone and walks around the house, we can see a variety of shots, especially long shots. these are meant to show that she is very alone. When the man on the phone tells her he wants to know "who [he's] looking at", the camera gets closer to her face to emphasize her reaction. When she looks outside to check to see if the man is there, we see a POV shot of what the character would be seeing. This puts us in her place, which helps in scaring us. Finally, we see another dutch angle of the popcorn being cooked. 

This scene definitely used many techniques that I have researched however I also learned many new ones. The whole situation is something that is very possible in real life, a call from a wrong number is something that happens to all of us. This makes it even scarier because you are reminded of the movie every time you receive a call from a wrong number. The actor is obviously a big factor in how scary a movie turns out to be. If the actor is good, then the audience will believe what is happening much more than if the actor were bad. The POV shot goes along with this last technique as it puts us in the actors shoes. Seeing someone be terrorized is one thing, but being the one being terrorized takes the scariness to another level. The dutch angles were a very subtle technique but it adds a creepy vibe anytime it is used. The intricate techniques that were used in this scene show why "Scream" is such a classic.

Horror Genre Research

Today I researched the background as well as many techniques used in horror films that my group might use in our film opening. I simply looked up keywords in google such as

Background

First I'll begin with some background as I think it's important to see how the genre has evolved and why. Probably the first ever horror film was produced by George Mellies. Although it was more of a wondrous movie, it was the first film to include the supernatural, for example, animated skeletons, ghosts, transforming bats and an incarnation of the Devil. You can read more about this movie here.

Notice that early horror films were usually about supernatural things. Some examples of these movies are Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy. These characters are all supernatural and it is not possible for them to exist in real life. This is the main difference between old and new horror films.


Newer horror films are usually about events that could happen in real life. Some examples are Scream, Halloween, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Although these movies are not the latest, they are relatively new compared to the other movies mentioned. These films are definitely some of the most memorable of all time. I think that this is due to the fact that any of these story lines could happen in real life. This causes us to remember the plot long after we've seen the movie.

Techniques

Other than history, I also researched techniques in order to determine if the genre is even an option for my group. If we do a realistic horror, I think the genre is definitely doable. If we were to decide on a supernatural horror film, it would probably require special effects that are out of reach for us. 

Here are some common techniques used in horror films:

- A relatable/realistic plot is scarier  

As I mentioned previously, a relatable plot is scarier because it will stay with you even after the movie.

 - Unsettling/unusual angles

Scary films tend to include unsettling angles such as the dutch tilt. This simply gives the viewer an uncomfortable feeling.

 - Red key lighting

In some cases, red key lighting could give a scene the vibe intended by the director. This would give any actor a sort of red outline. 

- Fog

Similar to the previous technique, in some cases, fog could be the perfect tool for creating a creepy environment. Fog could transform a set completely.

Here is a link to more techniques that are very common in horror films.

Within the next few posts, I will definitely let you know what genre we end up choosing, this was just one option.

My Experience Making a Music Marketing Campaign

I created a music marketing campaign for an artist named alex! and his new single “Carry On” I learned many new things about the music industry, things that are popular practices as well as less common but effective practices.

Our ultimate goal in this campaign was to promote heavily through social media, specifically Instagram. We decided to distribute on all digital platforms, however, we focused mainly on Spotify due to its various convenient tools for promotion and huge audience. To connect with our audience as personally as possible, we set up several pop-up shows to which fans can attend and experience alex! in person. A long-term goal of ours is to get alex! to big TV shows such as The Late Late Show, The Tonight Show, and Ellen. These shows would gain alex! lots of exposure and would help to promote any future songs. We filmed a music video that would give our audience a visual which would help in getting fans to know the artist.

We researched top artists Camila Cabello and Beyonce in order to further understand the music business and the most effective modes of promotion and distribution. From this research, we discovered many practices that we will be implementing into alex!’s campaign. For one, the hottest month to release music is January, this is due to streaming services renewing their subscriptions in that month. This is where we realized how effective these TV shows are in promoting music.

We filmed and edited the music video for alex!. This video would be used as a promotional tool to give fans a visual of the artist and really help them to get to know him quicker. We decided to include many slow-motion shots as we believed it matched the mood of the song as well as scenes in the rain where the artist gave an emotional performance that went with the song. The video can be viewed on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkAwSQpH_i8

One of our main focuses was on Instagram, the biggest social media in the United States. We focused on this social media specifically because of its growing audience, and because our target age range is very active on this social media making up 61% of the total users.

On Instagram, we mainly focused on creating a professional looking profile for alex! This mainly consisted of good quality pictures, quick links in the highlights section, and a good looking profile picture. However, there are many other things that we used to promote the page. Interacting with other artists was a prominent one, we would interact with artists that were alex!’s size so that they would promote each other's work. We would also comment and be active on bigger artists pages as they have more traffic. We made sure to use engaging captions for the pictures that were posted, this way the fans would interact on the posts and become active fans. Finally, we made sure to repost any fan’s stories listening to alex!’s single “Carry On” to give the impression that many people were listening to the song, this would entice new fans to listen to the song.

We also took other social media into consideration depending on the size of the audience and their target age range. For example, we also promoted “Carry On” on Snapchat because their users are the same age as our target age. We paid for filters promoting “Carry On” that would be placed in hot locations such as Miami or New York. When it comes to streaming platforms, we concentrated on Spotify because of its user-friendliness and tools that it offers artists for promotion. We submitted the song to be considered for playlists, this way the song would gain more exposure.

The music business is a complicated one, the industry has changed drastically with the introduction of streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify. We believe that this plan takes advantage of all the new technology and trends that have emerged lately, and that this plan will be effective in boosting alex!’s fandom.

This activity has expanded my knowledge about the music industry, specifically distribution and promotion. The knowledge I have gained will definitely be put to use in any future activities and could definitely come in handy in real life situations now that social media is the best promotional tool for any media, not just music.