Movie Conventions Research: A Quiet Place

 Hey guys! So the next researching step our group took was to research different movies from our selected genre and analyze them. For the first movie, we chose to look at "A Quiet Place," and we found it to be very interesting. 

1. What elements (conventions) of the horror genre does this movie have?

    When watching "A Quiet Place," we noticed that may conventions of the horror genre were present. First, diegetic sounds like harsh breathing, creaking, crying, footsteps, and dry leaves rustling were used throughout the film. Since there was minimal dialogue incorporated, the diegetic and ambient sounds help to set the tone for the movie and make up for the lack of dialogue. Nondiegetic sound was also incorporated, and like most horror films, fast paced and suspenseful music was used during climactic scenes. Conventional camera angles were also used throughout the film. For example, during a scene were the victims were running for their lives, a tracking shot was used. Point of view shots were also used at times, like when the child was running from a monster, to have a similar effect as the tracking shot in putting the viewers in the character's shoes. Many close-ups were also used throughout to show the emotions and fear of victims, or to show the menacing faces of the villainous creatures. We also noticed the use of high angles when showing the victims on screen, as this showed their vulnerability and fear. The most noticeable time this was done was when showing the pregnant woman who feared for her life as she was close to giving birth. Another thing we noticed was that in the first few secondsof the movie, an establishing shot was used to show the abandoned and eerie town, which set the stage for the rest of the movie. 

    Another convention we noticed was that the characters were all dressed in casual costumes, which made the scenes feel more real and the characters more relatable. During some climactic parts of the movie, the lighting was also dark, adding to the foreboding feeling. The acting of the characters also played a big role in the movie, as they used body language like stiffness or facial expressions of despair, terror, and teary eyes to show their fear. The set of the movie was often very conventional, as towns, dark fields, or basements were often used. Some props were used throughout, like newspapers, chalk, guns, etc, and the use of some violent props which follows the conventions of most horror movies. Some conventional editing that was used was shot reverse shots, which showed many of the characters emotions throughout the film. The pacing of editing also followed conventional pacing, as the edited shots grew more frequent as the suspense grew or as the scene picked up in pace. For example, in the beginning of the film, the editing of the shots happens faster as the father starts running to try to save his child, heightening the suspense. 

2. What elements (conventions) of the genre did the movie have that you liked? 

    One convention that we really liked was the used of certain props to subtly tell the story where dialogue couldn't. Specifically, the use of newspapers in the opening scene. Within the first ten minutes we see newspapers blowing in the abandoned town and multiple newspapers in the dad's office that establish that sound is what attracted the deadly creatures. While most horror movies use props, we really liked how purposeful the use of props were in this film, as it visually explained the context of the movie, since there was no dialogue to do so. 

    Another convention that appealed to us was the frequent use of shot reverse shots in the film. This editing technique helped to show the character's emotions and reactions to what they saw. This technique also helped to establish relationships between characters that couldn't be shown through dialogue. For example, it was used to show how the dad and a stranger did not know one another but how the actions of the stranger could affect the dad, and it was used to show the love between the mom and dad in the film.  We felt that this was a very artful way of explaining relationships between characters and really liked how the producers chose to use this convention. 

    We also really liked how a lot of diegetic sound was incorporated into the film. This set the tone for the movie and create suspense in many places. For example, in the beginning of the movie, harsh breaths, footsteps, and the rustling of leaves were all used to create tension within the audience. The use of this sound was also very important to this film in particular, as it compensated for the lack of dialogue and was able to help tell the story where the dialogue could not. Non-diegetic sound was also artfully used, and we really liked how suspenseful and fast paced music was during certain scenes, as it increased the fear and anticipation within the audience. 

    The last convention used that we really liked was close-up shots. These were frequently used to show the emotions and expressions of the characters. This really helped the audience to understand the character's and understand how events have affected them. This also contributed to the fear factor of the film as we could see the fear and despair of the characters, which increased the tension and suspense. 

3. What elements (conventions) of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you? 

    One convention that did not appeal to us was the selection of props. Horror movies typically incorporate many props, many of which are mundane props. While we did like some props used in this movie, like the newspapers, we did not like how the film used minimal violent props. The film incorporated guns as props, but we felt that the producers choice to use mostly mundane props instead of violent ones actually took away from the scare factor of the movie. We agreed that if the film had chosen to add more violent props instead of mundane props, the movie would have felt more intense and would have been scarier. 

    Another convention that we did not like was the lighting used. While many horror movies use dark, low-key lighting, we did not like how it was used in this film. We actually felt that the film would have seemed more terrifying and realistic if lighter lighting was used during the intense and climactic scenes. The film did use natural lighting for some of its suspenseful scenes, and we actually found those scenes to be more frightening than the scenes shot in dark lighting. This may have been because it goes against the typical stereotype that bad things happen in the dark, and instead, it's scarier when you can clearly see the villain and the villain can see you. We also think that a scary scene being filmed in the light will make people question the common belief that they are safe in the light. Bad things are expected to happen in the dark, but bad things that happen in the light are so unexpected that it seem to us to be scarier.     

    Another aspect that we didn't like was certain types of diegetic sound incorporated. While overall we did like how much diegetic sound was used, we felt that in some instances, the diegetic sound was unnecessary and even distracting. For example, in the beginning of the film, when the older sister and younger brother were interacting, the sound would cut out when showing the sister and would come back when showing the brother. However, whenever the sound came back on, there was a very loud sound of static which we did not like. It was minor instances like these that we felt took away from the film, and was this did not appeal to us.