Research - The Conjuring 2, Analysis of Film Opening 2 (#12)

Today, I’ve analyzed the movie opening from The Conjuring 2. Just like my other blogs, I have analyzed editing, camera shots/angles, lighting, mise-en-scene, and the meaning behind repetitive items that continue to show up.

The Conjuring 2 Opening Scene

Background of Movie

The Conjuring was made in 2016, directed by James Wan. The star actors in this movie are Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, and Madison Wolfe. This movie is a genre of horror, thriller, and mystery. This movie is also connected to Insidious, (which I analyzed in blog #11), as they are the same world and timeline. The Conjuring 2 has four wins and 13 nominations in awards. The movie is 2 hours and 14 minutes long, rated - R. (Hayes et al., 2016). This movie is based on a true story, about the 1977-1979 Enfield Poltergeist case in London. (Rooms, n.d.)

Opening Scene

The conjuring opening scene is about 2 and a half minutes long. The movie starts with Ed and Lorraine, gathered around a table with others to do a séance to contact the spirits of the DeFeo House. This shows the viewers that Lorraine is opening herself to the evil entity. The opening scene continues with Lorraine, coming down the stairs as she is in a state of clairvoyance and using her psychic abilities to see the visions spirits were trying to show her. The mise-en- scene is in a house, decorated with 1970s decor. During this scene, she is walking around and following the spirits. The camera is following her at a canted angle to show the disorientation and confusion that she is feeling. It is revealed that the antagonist of the movie is The Nun, also known as Valak. (Oliver, 2025)

In the opening scene, there are close-ups of Lorraine's face to show panic and distress, and the small, almost unnoticed movements on her face. The camera is mostly using a handheld shot, as it is following Lorraine throughout this scene. The camera moves, using slow, deliberate movements in the character and surroundings, like a mirror, (which is very important). This movement creates suspense by focusing the audience’s attention on certain things and not everything at once. The director chose to use many shots of reflections and mirrors to show what is unseen and/or invisible to the characters' foreground, as this allows a jump-scare to form. There is low-key lighting with the only light being moonshine and small lamps around the house. The scene has low-key yellow-orange lighting, from lamps and candles, contrasted with shadows in hallways and corners. This creates a sense of dread and claustrophobia because it makes the viewer feel that they are in a small space and plays with human fear of the unknown in the dark. Towards the end of the scene, they use old-time features and text to resemble a newspaper. (Oliver, 2025)

The old time, newspaper scene

(Laurent, 2025)

    The sound in the opening scene is generally tense and eerie with intensified noises of doors creaking, footsteps, and heavy breathing. The score of the opening scene is very tense with the use of high-pitched strings and dissonant, minor chords that rise in volume during the vision to show the stress of the action. This musical cue lets the audience know that there is a supernatural danger and acts as an alarm bell that signals the approach of demons. The scene also has moments of silence and sudden noise to allow the best jump-scare reaction from the audience to happen. The diegetic sounds that are used in the scene are eerie, sustained and whispers/voices that Lorrain hears during her trance. This creates a tension and allows the audience to immerse themselves in the scene with the characters. (Oliver, 2025)

Scene Analysis

Reflection

This analysis of The Conjuring 2's opening scene was very entertaining to do because it was great fun to do, because there was a lot of information to play with that makes the movie better than it already was. The opening scene of The Conjuring 2 is on point with the horror vibe as it is based on the case in 1977-1979, which made the movie more scary as something similar happened in real life. James Wan, the director, puts the audience on edge by focusing on Lorraine’s abilities through intense camera movements, like slow close-ups and first person views during her visions. The use of the dark cluttered house setting and dim lighting makes the place feel unsafe. The sudden loud noises mixed with the quiet moments make the jump scares hit better and harder, making the scene more suspenseful and high stakes. Doing this analysis makes me want to watch the movie again, especially since it is Halloween season right now. This movie is scary and fun to watch and experience every jump scare even if I know they’re coming or there.

My personal Hand Written Notes

(The word count of this blog is 825 words, including this sentence.)

References

Hayes, C., Hayes, C. W., Wan, J., David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Hayes, C., Hayes, C. W., Wan, J., Hayes, C., & Hayes, C. W. (2016, June 8). The Conjuring 2. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3065204/

Laurent, V. (2025). Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/ptfaJTuWAEc?si=fhUvcFyMJHOmp_SA

Oliver. (2025, May 25). The Conjuring 2 (2016) summary & plot - Spoiler Town. Spoiler Town. https://spoilertown.com/the-conjuring-2-2016/

Rooms, H. (n.d.). The Enfield Haunting and The Conjuring 2 True Story. Haunted Rooms®. Retrieved October 29, 2025, from https://www.hauntedrooms.co.uk/enfield-poltergeist-true-story-enfield-haunting

Research - Insidious, Analysis of Film Opening 1 (#11)

    Today, I analyzed the movie opening of Insidious (2010).  I did the camera shots shown, the opening credits' fonts and movement, the lighting, coloring of the movies, and important features that are repeated.

Insidious Opening Scene

Background of  the Movie

    The Insidious movie was made in 2010, directed by James Wan, written by Leigh Whannell. Insidious has the genres of a horror, thriller, and mystery. The main actors are Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Ty Simpkins. This horror movie has had 12 nominations and 8 wins, in awards. The movie is an hour and 43 minutes and is rated PG -13. (IMDb, n.d.)

Opening Scene

    In the opening scene, the opening credits are in red text with an eerie font, and the text is moving around with the camera. The credits are shown with a sharp, blood-red font against a black screen. They dissolve with a ghostly effect. The red represents danger, blood, and demonic activity. The visuals focus on a child's bedroom and parts of a typical family home. The house, which is normally a place of safety, becomes a place of terror. The focus on the child's room emphasizes the primal fear of innocence. The first character shown is Dalton, the kid, alone in his bed, then there is a ghostly bride in black revealed, then a photo of the family. Showing the kid brings out a sympathy and heightens the sense of danger, as the happy family is going to be shattered with fear of evil. (sboyes1, 2025)

    The editing is very smooth and there are blackout cuts. Throughout the scene, the camera is a handheld angle as it moves through the rooms, with intense music and movement. The tracking shots and low angles are to show there is something or someone floating along the walls. This disembodied camera movement suggests there is a ghost, placing the audience in an uncomfortable position like a watcher. There are canted angles which creates a feeling of disorientation and unease to let the watchers know that something isn't right. The lighting in the opening scene is low-key lighting, dim and dark. The little bit of light often comes from a bedside lamp and candles. The color palette is filled with grey, blues, blacks, and a bit of white to contrast with the red text. The low-key lighting brings a sense of dread and mystery of "what happens next?" (sboyes1, 2025)

    In this clip, it shows how the camera movement is smooth and blends in from room to room and object to object. 

    The sound in the opening scene of Insidious is eerie and intense. For a non-diegetic sound, the score by Joseph Bishara, is mostly high-pitched string instruments, like violins with screeching, dissonant chords. These sounds set up the scene for a jump-scare, creating a feeling of anxiety and dread. The increase in the intense volume and pitch, acts as a preparation for a shock or reveal to the audience. On the other hand, the diegetic sounds are Dalton's slow, regular breathing and the tick-tock of the grandfather clock. These sounds create the feeling that time is running out and the child's breathing brings a sense of vulnerability in the face of danger coming soon. Then there is silence in some parts. This silence creates a chance for dramatic drops in volume before a sudden loud noise or jump-scare. Silence in a horror movie is never a good thing, and it signals a brief calm before the storm, which adds on to whatever jump-scare is coming soon.

    Overall, the opening of Insidious is highly effective at getting the reader's attention because of the combination between the visuals, (red/black palette, low-key lighting) and horror conventions, (vulnerable child, haunted home) to immerse the audience in a high-tension, supernatural horror narrative.

Personal written research :)

Scene analysis

Three scenes from Insidious

Reflection

    As I analyzed the Insidious (2010) opening highlights its excellence. I saw how there are many codes and convections of a horror movie that this famous movie has used, making the movie successful. The director, James Wan's strategy is to generate unease through POV cinematography, positioning the audience as the disembodied entity which adds to the sense of shattered security and eerie mood. The visuals combined with Joseph Bishara's unsettling music score, makes the audience feel the presence of the supernatural, signaling danger before anything scary is shown. The child's room with a typical family home mixed with the low-key lighting and deep shadows, makes the threat feel inescapable and more scary than a visible enemy, making the film more haunting. The longest part in this analysis, in my opinion, is the scene annotation, because there can be so many things in one scene that can mean anything. I did enjoy looking at the small details of scenes though. :)

References

https://www.mybib.com/b/ZyJRMz

Cin

Cinemania. (2025). Youtu.be. https://youtu.be/jT2-RGWhzuI?si=o1hDzUBeHFnQtizg

IMDb. (n.d.). Insidious. Www.imdb.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1591095/

sboyes1. (2025). Insidious - Title Sequence. Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/insidious-title-sequence/16419500

 

Planning - Gallery Walk (#10)

     On Friday, October 24, 2025, my teacher, Mrs. Ortiz, allowed us to do a Gallery Walk of our classmates’ and peers’ blogs and websites. We were able to give feedback on other students’ websites/blogs and gained some feedback for ours. This gallery walk was about thirty to forty-five minutes.
    Some things I saw on others' blogs were how many people added pictures of their progress and handwritten notes onto their blogs to support and add that they are in the zone and working hard on their research so far. Some feedback I gave to others was, “Make sure your blogs are organized, adding subheadings and separating paragraphs,”“ Make blogs a bit longer”, and “Make your blog unique to you.” I said these things to make sure that those who got those notes could better their blogs. Some of my peers had short blogs, long blogs that needed to be organized, or blogs where the background needed their personal touch to make it their own. I gave these criticisms based on things that have helped me make my blogs better. Although the background of our blogs isn’t mandatory to do and to make cute, it still lets our teachers, friends, and moderators know that “this is who I am”, which can make a big difference for our later and A-Level media studies.

As you can see below, I wrote down a few notes on things I saw others do that I should, and will, add to my blogs moving forward.

    This experience of walking around and giving feedback to others showed me many things I need to work on when it comes to my blogs. I would like to do this assignment or walk again when my classmates and my blogs are more in depth and advanced in the progress of our projects to see how much we’ve grown from now to then, (could also do Gallery Walk pt.2). 😌

    I liked this assignment very much because of the feedback I gained from my classmates, and it helps me better understand what is needed to do for later assignments. I personally have grown a bit in the sense of my blogs and what to add to it. Some feedback I got from others was like. Some feedback I got from my peers was, “Your reflections are great and long,” “should add more pictures to recent blogs,” “don’t put too much work on yourself,” “your background reflects your personality”, and “make blogs a little bit longer.” From these comments, there was only one constructive criticism, which is "make blogs a bit longer,” which I totally agree with! My blogs are pretty long, in my opinion, but not as long as they could be, also meaning I could do better.

    I got eight sticky notes of constructive criticism from my peers as seen above. 🙂 I have these still in my notebook pocket which I'm going to carry with me to remind myself of things I need to work with. These sticky notes have pushed me to do better and showed me what I need to keep and change in my blogs. I’m grateful for these pieces of advice from my peers and I wish to continue to get more as I grow in my progress.

Reflection

    To conclude my blog of the day, based on this gallery walk my teacher has allowed me and my peers to do, I will continue to keep in mind all the criticism I gained from them. I will make my blogs longer, add more pictures, and continue what I’m doing for myself. This constructive criticism builds me up and helps me to better myself and my blogs as I work along to the end of the school year. This experience has inspired me to get work done and make my blogs better. There were many strengths and a few weaknesses that my peers and I shared. There are many places for improvement in the near future that will come soon (I’m working, I promise!! 😅). I got this, and so do my peers. As stated before, I wish for another gallery walk to continue to better my blog for my final two-minute film.

Research - Horror Analysis (#9)

 Why do people watch horror movies?

   Why do people watch scary movies? Horror movies bring out different feeling out of people, whether that's a morbid curiosity or the thrill of flight or fight. 

     To start, some people watch horror movies for the thrill of a flight or fight, in a safe environment, then to feel that sense of relaxation and calm. Horror/scary movies triggers the brain to release adrenaline and cortisol, which increases heart rate and alertness. After the fact, the body can enter a "rest and digest", flooded with dopamine, which can be a very rewarding sensation. (Bradford & Bose, 2024). Horror movies allow people to safety confront fears and test limits in an environment, they know is safe. (Why, 2021) For some, particularly those with anxiety, the intense fear followed by the eventual release can be a way of practicing self-soothing techniques. 

    To continue, there can be a morbid curiosity. There are many people who are fascinated by dark themes and the horror movies gives that safe outlet to explore these themes and morbid curiosities without real world consequences. Which in my opinion is creepy.😶 But what is a horror movie without some creepiness in it? Horror often delves into the darkest aspects of human nature and the human condition, which viewers find interesting to watch through a fake/fictional lens. Additionally, the horror genre can help people understand how far they can go, in a sense for fear and suspense, and provide a sense of accomplishment when they get through a horror film. (France, 2023)

Personalities, Age, and Gender Groups

According to Glass B.S. (2021), the personality types that like horror movies are the people who like high sensation seeking, openness to new experiences. and a low empathy for others' distress; although, it could also be a coping mechanism for anxiety. According to Yang and Zhang (2021), younger people are more likely to enjoy horror movies than older people, as those movies are mainly aimed for a younger audience. Additionally, men are more likely than women to be fans of certain aspects of it. Although women like horror movies with happy ending rather then men, who like movies with highly loaded intense acts. I personally did my own research to support this, and here was the results:

From my Survey of Classmates

This pie chart shows that 58.3% of women has answered the poll, which is 14 women. Additionally, 41.7% men have answered this poll which is 10 men; that I made for my research.

In this pie chart, it shows what features that people like in horror movies when watching them. 54.2% prefers horror movies filled with intense acts through their watch, (13 people chose this). 16.7% of people like to have an happy ending in the horror movies, (4 people chose this). 29.2% of people chose both features that they like in the horror movies, (7 people chose this).

            These pie charts are important to my blog because, as stated above, other research states that men like loaded intense features, and women prefer the happy ending. After going through each response I found that there were more women preferred loaded intense acts in horror movies which surprised me as women are known for liking softer things then men, but there was seven women that chose loaded acts. Only three women chose happy ending preferred horror movies. On the other hand, there was six men that prefers loaded intense acts in their horror movies, while one guy chose a happy ending. The in between that chose both was four women and three men. This goes against the research from Yang and Zhang (2021), and the results surprised me for sure. Overall, there was thirteen people that chose loaded acts, seven people that chose both, and four people that chose a happy ending. I want to thank my teacher Mrs. Ortiz for taking the time to share this survey with my peers and other classes that she has. ☺

Reflection

            Overall my research has opened my eyes to the different age, gender, and personality groups, and why people watch horror movies; when I saw the research and results from my polls and articles, they surprised me a lot. I had a few challenges finding what I wanted to make this blog about because I mainly, didn't want to come short with my blogs but this blog came out how I wanted it to and I'm proud of my work. This blog took me three days to research and put together. My blogs are getting more lengthy, which is exactly what I wanted for myself. It was cool to see how there are so many opinions on horror movies and aspects that not much people think about, which has made me more aware of what can come with when researching anything. Horror movies are my favorite and I'm glad that I was able to do in depth research of my favorite genre. 

I used Google Forms for my survey. This is what it looks like from my side as the creator. Although it took me about 10 minutes to make, it gave the results that I needed for my research. :) 

References

Bradford, S., & Bose, P. (2024, October 15). Why Do We Like Horror Movies? The Scientist Magazine®; The Scientist Magazine. https://www.the-scientist.com/why-do-some-people-enjoy-horror-movies-72181

Breslin, C. (2022, October 17). Why Do People Like Horror Movies? What Is the Psychology Behind It? - Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. Www.psichi.org; THE INTERNATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY IN PSYCHOLOGY. https://www.psichi.org/blogpost/987366/479889/Why-Do-People-Like-Horror-Movies-What-Is-the-Psychology-Behind-It

Editor. (2024, October 10). Survey: Younger generations watch most horror content. Advanced-Television.com. https://www.advanced-television.com/2024/10/10/survey-younger-generations-watch-most-horror-content/

France, P. (2023, October 30). Horror on Health: Does watching movies make us sick? - The Medium. The Medium -. https://themedium.ca/horror-on-health-does-watching-movies-make-us-sick/

Glass B.S., J. (2021). From Horror Films to Heart Rates. Innerspacecounseling.com. https://www.innerspacecounseling.com/blog/from-horror-films-to-heart-rates

Orth, T. (2025, October 16). The horror divide: Americans’ love-hate relationship with scary movies. Yougov.com; YouGov. https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/53195-the-horror-divide-americans-love-hate-relationship-with-scary-movies

Parris, D. (2024, May 15). Why Do People Like Horror Films? A Statistical Analysis. Statsignificant.com; Stat Significant. https://www.statsignificant.com/p/why-do-people-like-horror-films-a

Why. (2021, October 18). Laurel Therapy Collective. Laurel Therapy Collective. https://www.laureltherapy.net/blog/why-do-some-people-like-scary-movies

Yang, H., & Zhang, K. (2021, October 26). The Psychology Behind Why We Love (or Hate) Horror. Harvard Business Review; Ascend. https://hbr.org/2021/10/the-psychology-behind-why-we-love-or-hate-horror

Planning - The Genre Decision (#8)

     For my final decision I will be working alone and I will do all the task like editing, research, and planning. Filming and acting will be done with the help of my mom and siblings. I have chose to work alone because scheduling with a group will be hard; I'm in SharkPac (a performing arts club), joining tennis, and life outside of everything would make it very hard to work with others. Additionally, I work better alone. I have chose to do and research a horror film opening because I enjoy this genre the most of out the few I've research and watch in my life. A horror film uses dark and spooky lighting, costumes, and dialogue which is most accessible for me since I will be working alone, and with the mise-en-scene, camera work, and more, I believe it is the best route for me and it will be something I enjoy to do. The code and conventions that I plan to use are camera works like POV shots, handheld shots, and close-up shots; low-key lighting like narrow dark hallways to make a dreadful feeling; non-diegetic sounds like heavy breathing, sudden loud sounds; and fast cut editing to create a climax. 

    A backup genre would be thriller and this would also work if my main idea of a horror film opening doesn't because horror and thriller genres are similar in codes and conventions, and I think I wouldn't need to change my planning too much due to how similar they are. My target audience of my film would be people 16 years old and up, and thrill and horror seekers. My opening film the perspectives show are the protagonist, who a panicked ordinary person would cut off guard. The age of the actor, (myself) would reinforce the theme of vulnerability during a time of supposed safety in their home. A stereotype in horror movies I'd like to challenge is the "Final Girl" trope of the protagonist being the final person alive and beating the killer/monster, surviving the final hours of the film. I would reinforce the vulnerable protagonist to continue the feel of danger for the protagonist.  The audience will have a heightened dread of the unknown and fear for the main actor and environment. 

    The first idea I have of my film is the main actor, (myself) doing homework or studying hard late at night. Then there will be a figure outside who keeps passing the sliding door then that figure slowly making their way inside the home of mine. I freak out and make my way to the front door, grabbing the keys and fumbling the keys, creating suspense. I look like I make it outside but I really don't, the final shot being only my hand being dragged back inside. 

    A few of challenges I expect making sure each shot gives the feel that I want to give to the audience, limited lighting and audio quality. The strengths that my mom and I have are acting and editing Another strength I have lie in focused pre-production planning and a strong understanding of the concepts in a horror movie. 

Research - My Studies of Genres (#7)

     Hello, it's me again! To start, for my two minute film I have been thinking about doing either a rom com, a thriller, or a horror. For a romcom I've read a few books that have romcoms as their main genre. To name a couple of books, I've read "Beach Read" by Emily Henry, "The Love Hypothesis" by Ali Hazelwood. These books are popular rom coms that I enjoyed; they have that perfect mix of comedy and romance that every romcom needs. I chose to research this genre because I like rom coms books, and I think it will be something new or uncommon for people to see in their two minute film. For the movies that I have watched that are thriller are "Black Phone" directed by Scott Derrickson and "Five Nights At Freddy's" directed by Emma Tammi. These movies have spooky feeling and keep you on your toes, and even though I've seen many people use this genre, I think it is something cool to experiment with. Some horror movies I've watched are "The Conjuring" directed by James Wan and "Insidious: The Red Door" directed by Patrick Wilson. Although horror and thriller are similar and sometimes mixed when making movies, a thriller is a genre I enjoy; whether that is in books or movies. They always catch my attention very quick when done right, so that is why I chose to research this genre.

        To start my research on rom coms, the main thing that all rom coms need to be successful are a compelling mix of heartfelt romance and authentic humor. Rom coms like "10 Thing I Hate About You" have this component. One of the core components in rom coms are compelling characters; the audience must be able to relate to them and root for them to end up together. For example, they need to be lovable but flawed, have sparking chemistry, and unforgettable sidekicks, (Hellerman, 2024). The second core component is a classic, yet fresh, plot; most rom coms follow a predictable "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl" structure, according to Scripts (2022).  Most rom coms have the "cute meet" moment, an effective central conflict, the grand gesture, and a happy ending. The last core component is a balanced between humor and emotion; a rom com is more than just jokes, it taps into real human emotions and experiences. For example they include heartfelt sentiments, natural humor, and authenticity and relatability, (Smith, 2025). From the movies I've seen, the different shots that they mostly use are medium shots, close-up shots, and two-shots to show the intimacy, emotion, and dynamics between the characters in the movie. The different types of editing styles that directors use are fast pace with quick cuts to keep the joyful and upbeat mood of each scene and moment within the movies. Sounds and mise-en-scene that directors also use are nostalgic music to keep the old time lovey feel and the movies also use warm colors and bright colors to create a inviting scene for the movie.

        For my research of a thriller genre the main thing that I noticed in the plot of those movies are a clear, formidable threat and high stakes for the protagonist, who should also be a well-developed, relatable character with a compelling goal. A few key elements for a successful thriller are a clear threat and high stakes; the audience must understand the protagonist's personal danger to invest in the outcome (Spines, 2022), a compelling protagonist; create a memorable protagonist whose clear goals and struggles ensure the reader's investment in their journey (admin, 2008), and a plot twist; incorporate unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader guessing, but ensure they feel integral to the plot and not just a superficial misdirection, (Class, 2020). The codes and conventions that thrillers use are camera work like Dutch angles, tracking shots, and extreme close-ups mixed with face paced editing and eyeline matches to create a intense but uneasy feeling to the scene. Thrillers often use heavy breathing, fast heart beating, and ominous music to create the creepy and suspenseful mood for the audience. Thrillers often use low-key lighting, deep shadows, unsettling costumes and makeup to reflect a eerie atmosphere and characters.

In horror movies the camera work that directors use the most are shaky handheld camera to make a sense of urgency and chaos, low-angle shots to make the killer/monster more threatening, and slow tracking shots to build suspense. For editing style and sound, the movies include fast cutting and sudden cuts to create panic and jump scares, dialogue like screaming, sound effects like heavy breathing and creaking doors. These elements make the suspenseful creepy sound that all horror movies create. Most horror movies use silhouettes to make the killer/monster more scary and inhuman, while also using costumes like masks or cloaks to dehumanize them. In horror movies the key components that they contain are the fear of the unknown, loss of control, and the "final person" where they is the last one standing and defeats the killer/monster. Which happens in Insidious: The Red Door. The kid, Dalton, beats the finally trapped the demon away forever, and saves his parents and himself.

Romcoms Idea:

A medium shot of two characters walking from opposite directions. Slow-motion shot of a coffee cup tipping over. Close-up on the horrified faces. Quick cuts of them frantically wiping up the mess. A background music of an upbeat, light-hearted pop music. A awkward "On my gosh, I'm so sorry!" dialogue. The mise-en-scene of a brightly lit, busy coffee shop or school cafeteria, and colorful costumes.

Thriller Idea:

Focus on a piece of paper being passed under a desk. Quick cuts between the protagonist's paranoid eyes and the note. Tracking shot as the protagonist rushes through a crowded hallway. Sounds could be general murmur of the classroom, muffled, tense, non-diegetic score, and/or the sound of ripping paper. Mise-en-scene being a busy, ordinary high school hallways/classroom. Protagonist looks constantly over their shoulder. The note reads: "They know."

Horror Idea:

POV shot of hand fumbling with keys. Low-angle shot of the door. Extreme close-up on the doorknob slowly turning from the inside. A dark figure in the shadow slowly getting closer, with no visible face. Sound of heavy breathing, creaking and scratching behind the door, with sudden loud sounds. Mise-en-scene, dark, narrow, hallway with a single flickering bulb, (low-key lighting).

Reflection:

The genres that feels most achievable for me is a horror film because although is a common but simple genre to do, I believe it is achievable for me since I'll be working alone. The genres that excite me the most are thriller and horror because they are my favorite movies/genres to watch and experience. A rom com might be difficult with the resources I have because I don't have access to mise-en-scene that relates to rom coms, and I believe that it will be unrealistic for me to do if I tried. This research as opened my eyes to the many parts of these genres that I haven't thought about ever. I'm excited to go start on my two minute film opening. My first option for the film opening is a horror because I want to do something that is achievable and realistic for myself. I ready to continue this project and many more to come! 

References

admin. (2008, September 5). 10 Basic Ingredients of a Successful Thriller. Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/improve-my-writing/10-basic-ingredients-of-a-successful-thriller

Class, M. (2020). 6 Elements of a Thriller Novel: How to Write a Bestselling Thriller - 2024 - MasterClass. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-bestselling-thriller-novel

Hellerman, J. (2024, May 3). Do You Know the Core Elements of Romantic Comedy Genre in Film and TV? | No Film School. Nofilmschool.com. https://nofilmschool.com/romantic-comedy-definition

Scripts, I. (2022, November 23). The KEY Building Blocks to Writing a GOOD Romantic Comedy. Industrial Scripts®. https://industrialscripts.com/romantic-comedy/

Smith, A. R. (2025, February 14). The Evolution of the Romantic Comedy: What Today’s Rom-Coms Teach Us About Love, Storytelling, and Success. Stage 32; Ashley Renee Smith. https://www.stage32.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-romantic-comedy-what-todays-rom-coms-teach-us-about-love-storytelling-and-success-4010

Spines. (2022, September 12). The 9 Ingredients To A Winning Thriller - Spines. Spines. https://spines.com/the-9-ingredients-to-a-winning-thriller/