Film Opening Genres

 Italian Vampire Mobster In Love

What an interesting heading? How weird of a heading? These are things you must be thinking about right now. Don't worry this is not the title of my film opening. This heading concerns the genres and ideas I have with possible film openings. There are many interesting genres of films but the ones I am most interested in making are Gangster, Horror, and Romance films. Now that you understand the genres I want to do, why Italian? Why vampire? Why in love? Well for those genres I was thinking of specifically focusing on Italian mafia/mobsters for gangster films, Dracula-type films for horror, and romantic drama for romance. I know you may still be confused now, but here is some context about these genres and why I chose those topics within them. 

Genre #1- Gangster Films:

Gangster films are movies focused on gangs and organized crime. It is a subgenre of crime films. These films, it usually involve crime families, large criminal organizations, or small gangs that are formed to perform certain illegal acts. One of the most famous and popular gangster films is The Godfather. That film focuses on the family of Corleone, who goes through a cycle of violence and betrayal. The film that laid the foundation for gangster films was the movie The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912). 

These films are generally represented as a formula that includes an outsider who gets ambitions, enters a criminal world, rises to full power, and then falls into a violent scenario.

Most gangster movies are built around the rags-to-riches story of an underdog rising to power and then meeting with a tragic downfall. These films often explore relationships within crime families and organizations. Gangster films are full of horrific violence for the gaining and sustaining of power. Whereas the classical films dealing with crime present policemen as heroes, gangster movies completely reverse the situation and project criminals as heroes.

It is still a genre that influences TV series like The Sopranos and Narcos. It shifts crime and society, yet it retains those core themes like power, corruption, and fall.

My Opening:

For my film though I want to focus on Italian gangsters. I want to establish a story about a character in an Italian Mafia family. Italian gangster films are based on organized crime, especially the Mafia, and describe the life of mobsters, their rise and fall, and the violent underworld they live in. These films are usually divided into two categories:

Italian Cinema- Films made in Italy about the Mafia, often based on real-life crime families.

Italian-American Films- Hollywood movies about Italian mobsters, influenced by Italian crime stories.

Italian Mafia films have contributed to the world crime cinema, presenting gritty realism opposite the stylized Mafia stories presented by Hollywood. They also draw attention to the real-life violence and corruption caused by the Mafia, making them strong political statements.

Genre #2- Horror films:

Horror is a form of narration meant to instill fear, dread, and anxiety in its audience. Often, it contains themes of the unknown, supernatural, death, madness, and darker sides of human nature. Horror can come in the forms of literature, film, TV, video games, and even folklore.

Horror has its roots in ancient folklore, mythologies, and religious texts.

Horror further developed from Gothic into psychological and existential terror.

Horror has many subgenres; here are a few: 

Supernatural Horror - Ghosts, demons, and more (The Conjuring).

Psychological Horror - Mental terror (The Babadook).

Slasher - Killers after victims (Halloween).

Body Horror - Deformed physical transformation (The Fly).

Cosmic Horror - Fear of the unknown (The Thing).

Folk Horror - Superstition and fear in the rural setup (Midsommar).

Zombie Horror - Apocalypse caused by the undead (Night of the Living Dead).

My Opening:

I want to focus more on the stories of Dracula. I want to establish a story about Dracula, his son, and the Belmont family (vampire hunters) the story would be inspired by the animated show Castlevania (2017). Dracula is among the most iconic horror characters in cinematic history, with film renditions into the dozens over a century. Adapted from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula has transformed from a silent-era monster into a pop culture monster.

Nosferatu (1922) - The first unofficial film about Dracula is by F.W. Murnau. Because it didn't have any rights to Stoker's novel, it had to change names-Count Orlok instead of Dracula.

Dracula (1931) - The first official adaptation, starring Bela Lugosi, whose performance became the template for Dracula's image: slicked-back hair, cape, hypnotic stare.

Nosferatu was remade recently as well and gets a lot of attention.

Classic Dracula films put much stress on dark castles, foggy landscapes, and old-world fears.

Many versions present Dracula as a tragic lover, like in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Some modern versions turn Dracula into a warrior, as in Van Helsing and Dracula Untold. Some adaptations focus on the mental manipulation of victims by Dracula. Dracula has influenced every vampire story in pop culture. The character symbolizes the fear of the unknown, death, and seduction. Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Gary Oldman have shaped how the character of Dracula is viewed.

Genre #3- Romance Films:

Romance films involve stories of romance that show passion, emotion, and the deep romantic affection of characters. It typically shows their journey through the beginning of a relationship, middle of a relationship, end of a relationship, marriage, and more romantic involvement. The romance in these types of movies is the main plot and focus of the movie. Usually in romance films, the couple goes through hardships like finance, illness, psychological restraint, family resistance, and more. These movies usually incorporate themes of desire, fate, heartbreak, and commitment. 

Romance films started out in the 1890s-1920s. An example of a movie at that time was:

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Later into the "Golden Age of Hollywood" (1930s-1950s). Many great romance films were made at this time for example:

Casablanca (1942)

Nowadays romance films that are most known or have recently released are 10 Things I Hate About You, Notting Hill, Titanic, Anyone But You, and much much more.

My Opening: 

For my opening, I would like to focus more on the subgenre of Romance-Drama films. I would like to make a story about a couple who goes through hardship. The story would be inspired by the film Waves (2019) an emotional journey of an African American man who struggles with his family, his love interest, and a tragic loss.

Romance dramas are films that focus on deep emotional storytelling that emphasizes love, relationships, and the struggles entailed with it. Unlike romantic comedies, these films many times will be about great conflict, heartbreak, personal growth, and often tragic endings. They can be realistic, melancholic, or even poetic. They can also be one of the most emotionally powerful genres in cinema.

Common Themes:

Star-Crossed Lovers: Fate, society, or tragedy stands in the way of lovers. Romeo + Juliet, West Side Story.

Unrequited or Unattained Love: Love is one-sided or missed. Great Gatsby, 500 Days of Summer.

Tragic Romance: Illness, war, and death will probably tear the lovers away from happiness. The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You.

Love vs. Duty: A character is obliged to choose between love and personal obligations. Atonement, La La Land.

Brief love stories, which do not last for life yet touch hearts: In the Mood for Love, Before Sunset.

Romantic dramas are loved for their emotional depth, amazing storytelling, and ability to resonate with audiences. They reflect on human experiences of love, loss, and longing for another, making them some of the most powerful and unforgettable films in cinema history.

  

Transitioning into Portfolio Project

 Hello Cambridge! From now on I will be posting my progress throughout creating my portfolio project. These posts will help establish my ideas while also demonstrating my ability to properly create my portfolio. Here I will show all sorts of ideas, brainstorming, storyboards, pictures, and videos relating to the portfolio. Starting this project is going to be a challenge but I know that my prior knowledge of TV Production and things learned during Aice Media will help make this portfolio the best that it can be. I hope all goes well in the process and the final outcome of my portfolio. In class, we were introduced to film openings which of course is one of the major parts of the portfolio. We were shown some openings in class, to inform us of how they are and to get our minds to start an idea of what ours will be like. Film openings have many key features that help establish them.

Film openings are significant in the fact that it introduces us to the main idea of the film. They use things like sound, context, characters, lighting, and much more to establish the story of the film. For my film opening, I would like to try to incorporate lighting, sound, character details, and more to help establish the story of the film, while also creating an awe-inspiring film opening. I feel that some of the most important details to a film opening are characters due to the film revolving around them and helping establish the tone/context of the film. Sound of course is very important as well because foley, dialogue, and music can help in all sorts of ways, like setting, context, mood, tone, plot, and much more. 

Going on to my idea, I was already thinking of a genre and a type of character that I would like to make the film opening about. In my next post, I will discuss the genres I am thinking of doing but for now, I will give a hint about what I am leaning toward. Giving you a sense of interest and wanting more which will be felt after watching my film opening. 

For genre, I am leaning toward a genre that has to do with ethnic culture or folklore and the intensity of a situation or character. I want to create a story that people will get engaged in and will draw emotions like anger, sadness, resentment, jealousy, and much more. For my character, I want to display someone who is ruthless but has a heart deep down. A character that has love for the people he cares for and will do anything for them. I want them to be bold and a prominent character that people who watch the opening will remember. The characters will especially have a significant sound/music representing them. They will also have a look to them that is both traditional but special in their own type of way.

Music Marketing #2

 

Music Marketing #1

Research  

My group was given the Alternative music genre, which I was familiar with. Right when we found out, we started to think of artists and what record labels they were from. I instantly thought of Tame Impala and one of my group members thought of Billie Eilish once I suggested looking at Universal Music Group. Since Tame Impala is in Interscope Records one of my other group members remembered that one of her favorite artists is in Interscope; Lana Del Ray. While we all researched our record labels and artists our last member struggled to find one but ended up choosing Pearl Jam who is part of Universal Music. 

While researching each member found out about our artists' background, their target audience, and how they do digital/non-digital marketing and distribution. At the same time, we also found out the background of our record labels and the artists within them. 

Planning Process

After finishing the research we were assigned 4 songs to choose from. With that song, we would use it to make a music video for a band or artist that we would make up. We choose the song 15 by Radiohead. While I worked on the storyboard for the music video, my other members worked on the band name, and marketing. I was able to make 3 pages of storyboarding for an almost 4-minute song. The storyboard was on a storytelling music video about a couple who break up, reminisce on their relationship, and end up back with each other. While I was finishing up the storyboard my group came up with the name of our band; Flicker and Fade. They also developed the reason for the name of the band, their inspiration, their target audience, branding, and social media presence. We were also able to make an Instagram and Twitter for them. Later as the days passed talked with the teacher and realized we needed to develop our group more in detail so we made origin for each of our band members. We talked about their background, and how they met other members. 

 

(Old logo for the band above)

What's Next?

We still have some work to do, to develop the band more. Throughout this week we will be making sure our band is full proof. Our music video will also be filmed this week, but we are still looking around for people who can be in our video. Filming this video will take some time but won't be too hard since it is storytelling, and I have some experience in shooting music videos. Looking forward to what we will pull off and how our progress will pay off.