Week Two - 2

Genre Research -

When discussing our short films genre, my group member Michael and i knew that it would be grouped into the sci-fi genre, however we were aware that the overarching plot existed in a genre much simpler than that. The conflict being presented seemed to fit under the genre of Drama, however it also included some elements of Mystery as well, so this is where we focused our research.

In order to create an interactive and immersive setting, we studied other dystopian pieces such as the movie Her, and we focused our attention solely on postmodern work for our case studies. "Her"  was able to provide us with techniques in order to advance our melodrama, and it also opened us up to a world of possibilities as for props and location choices. Spike Jonze released "Her" in 2013, back before the release of airpods and before AI was an accepted reality, however he was able to accomplish his vision. Through selective location choices and articulate use of props and effects, we would also be able to effectively create a sci-fi setting that captivates an audience.

Capturing the viewers attention is only the first step, however, and so we began to research drama techniques that would be able to keep an audience interested. In order to generate an appropriate amount of emotion, i suggested to Michael that the cinematography and the editing should be somewhat "animated" and by that i referenced the very dramatic nature of Japanese animation, or anime. Extreme close up shots, sound edits used to intensify inner monologues or portray emotion, quick cuts creating anxiety, Japanese anime is chalk-full of these motifs, and i thought it would be creative to use these techniques in order to create our emotional appeal throughout the dialogue.