Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Comedy Research

 “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton


Today’s objective is to dive into a specific genre that I usually like to watch, however, it will be more based on the research I have done. Such a genre is…comedy!

Genre: 

The literal definition of comedy is that it is a drama whose purpose is to amuse individuals. Certainly, its purpose is accurate for the film world too. In film, comedy is described as being a genre that is designed to make audiences laugh. As comedy is one of the most popular genres, according to statistics around 64% of individuals in 23-24 used to watch comedies the most. Additionally, these films are found to be within the areas of light-hearted dramas, entertainment, and enjoyment. Part of the main component of comedy films is the narrative must end well, with the so-called “happy ending”. 

In the case of comedies, they gravitate to have a wider range of target audiences depending on the type of comedy that is being created. Films such as animated comedies aim to be targeted at younger children and overall families. On the other hand, overall comedy is more towards the ages of 15-24. As well as romantic comedies known as rom-coms tend to be targeted at women (gender) between the ages of 25-44. 

Conventions: 

Slapstick is a type of comedy used which is based on a style of humor that involves an exaggerated amount of physical activity compared to the regular physical activity in usual comedy. This convention at times involves intentional violence and props are used to assert the purpose intended. 

Ex. Home Alone is an example of the usage of slapstick, as the main character (Kevin) creates multiple traps in the house which cause exaggerated and intentional falls, and hits that lead to the creation of humor. 

Irony/Parody is another factor used in different movies as either the base of it or the whole point of the film. Usually, this is a big part of comedies as it is normally expected to be in the movies since ironic situations such as quotes help to create the comedic scene. The process of implementing irony is by including contrasting situations between reality and expectations. Nonetheless, parodies relate to imitating genres or works but add the exaggeration factor which is key all over the board. 

Ex. Scary Movie is an example of how comedy parodies are created, in this case, a mix of horror and the comedy factor included. 

Production techniques: 

Production in comedy films is divided into multiple factors such as lighting, timing, sound effects, and camera techniques. All of these are important to put together a good film. 

In regards to lighting, comedies have a distinct way of being produced. These films incorporate bright lighting as well as enthusiastic colors which help to reflect the atmosphere/tone that needs to be conveyed such as lighthearted. It allows viewers to sense the movie as welcoming due to the way it looks. 

Timing is another important factor of comedy productions as it helps to convey the message correctly. A small pause or no pause can make a difference in how the audience perceives the pun/joke the actor is trying to deliver. Camera techniques go along with the timing used in the films. Multiple shots are usually used such as long shots and close-ups, long shots reveal the whole picture when showing full-body physical actions. Close-ups are the opposites that show the exaggerated expressions and help with comedic timing. 

Sound effects can also help to further develop the way the production is understood. The sound commonly is exaggerated to increase the feeling of the movie; it helps to highlight the physical actions and is mainly used in slapsticks. Just as previously shown,  Home Alone is an example of sound effects used to enhance the way the movie is comprehended. 

Marketing: 

For comedies, the marketing typically changes depending on the type of comedy. For example, rom-coms often use ideas that resonate with younger audiences. Within the topic of younger audiences, companies utilize social media apps in which they create profiles of the movies in which they interact with the audience to promote the movies. The content produced such as posts, posters, and trailers traditionally include bright colors and bigger fonts which help to create a more vivid and catching visual. Frequently the visuals include the actors in their facial expressions or poses that are humorous or exaggerated. Additionally, there might be jokes included or quotes that were seen and popular in the movie, making it a reference from the movie. 

Samples: 

Film sample #1 - 17 again (2009)

The film 17 again (2009) features Mike O’Donnell who is played by Zac Effron (young Mike) and Matthew Perry (older Mike). The narrative is based around a high school storyline just like the name says “17 again”.  Mike begins as older Mike and then his midlife situation is revealed (problems with wife, career, and kids). Later on, a mysterious janitor is found on the way which leads Mike to become his 17-year-old self. This means that it gave him a chance to experience his high school years once again.  


This film includes a good representation of comedy due to the concept that was involved. The content itself makes the comedy which includes an entertaining and lighthearted story as the theme of family is presented throughout the film. The comedy is implemented by the contrast of the ages between the 17-year-old self and the older self. This is completed as the story includes moments in the 17-year-old self with his kids who are around the same age, the awkward moments in the schools, and these encounters are the ones that create certain comedic moments. 

Within the marketing technique, the poster includes the main character as the younger self seen as the usual “messy” high school boy. Also, the title of the movie is in bolded and the 17 in red which could be to emphasize the important age in the film. 


Film sample #2 - Bruce Almighty (2003)     

 Bruce Almighty (2003) starts with Jim Carrey as the main character Bruce; Bruce is a reporter who has been having frustrations in his life and feels that things are not going quite well. In addition, there are characters like God, Grace Connelly, and Evan Baxter which are a part of what makes the film come together. The main content of the film is the life of Bruce when God gives him powers just like the ones that God has and he starts to experience this other type of life in which he starts making certain decisions that should not be made…

Furthermore, within the production techniques, it uses mise-en-scene techniques regarding lighting as high-key lighting to make the scenes in which God shows up seen as heavenly. For other factors, the reactions presented by Bruce help to embody the genre of comedy and create laughing/funny moments. 

The poster shows the main character representing his “silly” side due to his facial expression, while also implementing the “heaven” side of the movie by using the clouds in the background and the almighty being in red/bold to show the most important event in the film. 


If you enjoy comedy, here are some recommendations: 

Fall Guy (2024)

Just Go With It (2011)

White Chicks (2004)

The Terminal (2004)

Beetlejuice (1988)


Sources: 

https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy 

https://prezi.com/n85gcijflbq7/target-audience-for-horror-comedy-films/#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20the%20horror,the%20ages%20of%2015%2D24

https://filmgrail.com/blog/cinema-audience-demographics-analysis-insights-and-data/ 

https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/filmgenres/comedies#:~:text=Comedy%20films%20are%20%22make%20'em,%2C%20and%20characters.%20… 

https://michaelbungay.wixsite.com/start-from-scratch-n/comedy-codes-and-conventions 

https://www.filmsite.org/comedyfilms.html 

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-comedy-definition/ 


Thursday, October 17, 2024

Representation

 “Captain, hey! Welcome to the…” - Brooklyn 99 

My gentle reader, today’s blog has taken quite a turn… I am not bringing the usual intro, instead, I am heading towards something more “cool, cool, cool, no doubt…” - Brooklyn 99.

The cool show Brooklyn 99, is different from other police shows. The show's main location is the NYPD’s 99th precinct in Brooklyn, New York. Detective Peralta is the main character of such a show followed by his colleagues Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz, Captain Raymond Holt, Charles Boyle, Terry Jeffords, Scully, Hitchcock, and Gina. All these characters together develop together and are the structure of the precinct. 

It's time to put our badges on and dive deeper into what some of the unique characters have to offer that make this squad not only a team but a diverse family. 

Starting with Captain Raymond Holt, played by Andre Braugher, is the leader of this whole squad. He is a black gay police captain which brings forth a more cohesive representation of both minority groups. The ownership of this show has broken the usual misrepresentation of both minority groups, which tend to be seen as not able to obtain high-level positions due to their race or described as loud/feminine due to being part of the LGBTQ+ community. However, this show has stepped out of this usual media representation and brought Captain Holt as a leader that no matter the discrimination he has encountered during his time in the NYPD it hasn't stopped him from pushing through the challenges. Additionally, he has his identity clear and his sexual orientation doesn't determine his abilities or the way he acts. In fact, he has served as the opposite of what is normally portrayed, his discipline, and monotone emotions, yet, opens up at times with his colleagues, suggesting the stereotypes are being broken. 

History of Holt | Brooklyn Nine-Nine 

On the other hand, there is Jake Peralta, played by Andy Samberg, and Amy Santiago, played by Melissa Fumero. Jake Peralta is the main protagonist of the show, a white male who works most of the comedic tone of the show. This is presented by his childlike attitude and goofy personality. Amy Santiago is one of the Latina characters in the show, yet, she is shown in a different way from the traditional media representation of a “loud” Latina. However, the part I want to show is how these two characters work together to break the usual representation of relationships in the media. Their relationship shows a different approach to the attitude that most “guys” show when working in the same field. As Amy wishes to be a sergeant and goes through the process to obtain such a position, Jake is supportive of her and helps her push through even though her desired position is higher than his; he doesn’t demonstrate any jealousy or feel threatened by her success. Together, they bring forth mutual respect, support, and equality which goes beyond the “traditional” toxic male representation. 

Overall, the show brings forth a modest representation of diverse groups (ethnicity, religion, sexuality) that feel natural as it develops through the seasons. In this show, there is no implementation of the governing factors and the majority is included. 


Monday, October 7, 2024

Sound project!

 “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton

In the course of learning about sound, we learned about multiple techniques: synchronous sound, asynchronous sound, diegetic, non diegetic, sound motif/leitmotif, sound perspective, sound bridge, voiceover. Within the lesson, another important point learned was addressing the audience through: the mode of address, direct address, narrating “I”, epistolary voice, score, music, sting, and sound effects.


Moreover, the additional videos focused on Foley artists taught us about the process of how sound is applied through a post production stage executed by the Foley artists. Such a process was called this way due to Jack Foley who was the creator of this art. This process takes place in a specific room and three people are needed to complete it - the mixer, and two Foley artists - and make the magic happen! 


Magicians never reveal their secrets, but I will…Let’s dive into the sound project.


The sound project consisted of creating scenes based on only sound. It was a 1-2 minute scene which could only use seven words. In addition, we were required to include at least four sound effects created by us; the rest of the sound could be obtained from online sound effects databases. 


Now, let’s get to the fun part… My sound project was a car race scene, which I developed in the brainstorming process. My partner and I developed such scene as it includes multiple loud sounds, here is the outline that was created:

Scene: Car Race

1.        Getting ready

  1. Footsteps

  2. Wind in background

  3. Dab up 

  4.  Loud Chatter

  5. Footsteps

  6.   Car Door handle 

  7.   Door opening

  8.   Person sitting 

  9.    Door Close 

  10.    Key insert 

  11. engine roaring

  12.   Audience cheering

  13. Putting on gloves + touching steering wheel

  14. Cars revving 

2.        Countdown

  1. Crowd cheering

  2. 3... 2... 1... 

  3.    Flag sound 

  4.   Crowd cheering

  5. Goes quiet

  6. Breathing + heartbeat 

  7. Sound of car engine slowly coming back

  8. Car goes into gear

  9. Car engine roaring and tires skidding 

3.        During

  1.  Upshifting

  2. Wind

  3. Car engine roaring 

  4. Tires skidding 

  5. Cheering

  6. Gloves shifting around

4.        Finish Line

  1.  Crowd cheering

  2.    Cars zooming past 

  3.    Person 2 screaming + hitting steering wheel  

  4.    Person 1 yelling in excitement 

  5. Cars turning off 

  6.  Door open

  7.  Getting out of car/footstep

  8.    Door close

  9.   Footsteps

  10.  Pink slips trade

This was the outline created to guide us to film the sounds and find them in the databases. As we used most of it, due to timing, we had to exclude some sounds to make the scene be on time, yet it all worked out perfectly 🥳. The editing resource utilized was Adobe Premiere Pro and most sounds were acquired from Freedsound's database. (If you wish to take a look at how the timeline looked, here you go!)

Overall, all sounds worked perfectly with one another. Nevertheless, I would like to improve the timing of the projects, as it was difficult to add and remove certain sounds to make it under two minutes but properly convey the car scene. 

No matter the challenge, I was able to complete it… Here is for you to take a look: 

https://drive.google.com/file/dI /1i6P8P_djZSZRyCIA1aC808_dD1lpOquL/view?usp=drivesdk 


Keeping Up With CCR - Part 3

“Dearest gentle reader,” -  Bridgerton   The journey of the CCRs is almost at the end. Here, I present one of the most interesting questions...