Genre research: Us

The movie Us (2019) is a thriller/horror movie. This means it has conventions common for both of those genres. However, I will be focusing on the thriller genre. 

Camera Angles, Movement, and shots:

There were lots of long shots in this movie. They were used to set the scene and to create tension by showing the character and the setting. There were also close ups to show the terrified looks on the actors faces. This created a thrill for the audience. Two shots were also common, usually between the protagonist and antagonist fighting. 

Costumes:

The "bad guys" wore distinct red suits to separate themselves from the other characters. The "good guys" wore normal day clothes such as jeans and t-shirts.

Lighting:

This movie had low lighting, which helped to create a scary mood. There was often flickering lights which created suspense, and sometimes there would be no light at all.

Makeup:

There was no extreme makeup in this movie. But like many thriller movies, there was makeup used to create injuries on the actors. 

Props:

The main props in this movie were vehicles such as cars and boats. Some of the characters carried scissors with them which were used as weapons.

Setting:

This movie was set in a beach town, with the main characters house on a lake. There was also a forest near the house, which is something commonly seen in thriller movies.

Editing:

This movie had a some flash back scenes to the characters early childhood. The flashbacks gave the audience an insight into the characters life. There were also a lot of jump cuts during scarier scenes. 

Sounds:

This movie had mostly diegetic sounds such as character dialogue, stomping, boat and car noises, etc. The characters dialogue was ranged from whispering during a tense scene, to screaming in panic. When there was non diegetic sounds like music, it was usually fast and scary sounding music.

Appealing Elements:

This movie used mostly diegetic sounds, which is appealing to me because that is easier to create. Low lighting like in this movie is also easy to achieve. This was also filmed in a local looking area which is something I have access to.

Unappealing Elements: 

This movie had special looking costuming, which would be harder to use in my groups movie. We don't have access to such a unique range of costumes.