The Psychology of Scary Movies Pt. 2

What makes horror films so attractive to audiences? What are some of the theories around the popularity of horror films? How do horror films relate to nightmares?

    The thing that makes horror films so attractive to audiences is a variety of reasons, primarily having to do with the emotions which they evoke. Some theories around the popularity of horror films are catharsis, excitation transfer, curiosity and fascination, disposition alignment, sensation seeking, gender socialization, and societal fears. The first theory is that horror allows audiences to "purge" or experience their negative emotions in a safe way through catharsis. The excitation theory is where the negative feelings created will later amplify the positive feelings of the hero winning at the end. Another theory is that these films exist outside of the norm of the real world, thus the allure is in seeing something abnormal. The sensation seeking theory is that people are seeking the thrill from horror films, much like one does on a rollercoaster or bungee jumping. The disposition alignment theory is essentially that people want to see "bad" people punished, often by being killed off. The gender socialization, or "snuggle," theory is where people enjoy it for how horror films can be a sort of representation or strengthen gender norms, such as a girlfriend being scared or a boyfriend not being scared. Societal fears often drive the premise or reflect the themes of horror films that are made in that time. Because of how many different theories there are, it is safe to say that many of these could be true for different people as people who watch horror movies could watch them for different reasons. Horror films relate to nightmares as movies and cinema is often compared to dreaming; thus horror could be attributed to nightmares. A primary theory about why we dream is to sort through information, thus watching a film is like that as we could observe scenarios and gain understanding or practice skills in a way. Thus, horror films allow us to practice or instinctual survival skills, such as fight or flight, in a safe space.

The Psychology of Scary Movies pt. 1

What are horror films? How do Tension, Relevance, and Unrealism play into the popularity of horror films?

    Horror films are movies that often appeal to the audience's fear and negative emotions, with darker themes and oftentimes death and gore. The three key factors that play into the popularity of horror films are tension, relevance, and unrealism. Tension is created through the mystery, suspense, gore, terror, and shock, which is the foundation for horror films in both story and filmmaking. Relevance pertains to universal, cultural, subgroup, and personal relevance. Universal relevance relate to universal fears and experiences, such as death or the unknown. Cultural relevance is things that relate to society and its issues or current fears, such as war or disease when fear of those are heightened. Subgroup relevance are when they pertain to specific groups, such as teenagers, which have a lot of horror films that relate to them. Personal relevance is when theres identification with the antagonist/protagonist, or a personal condemnation of the antagonist. Unrealism is very important to horror films as it is much more difficult for people to enjoy, let alone sit through, these themes and visuals when they believe or know that it is real life. People are far more disgusted and unsettled by gory documentaries than they are to gory films because they know that movies aren't reality.

Spielberg on Horror

Watch: Is Horror the Secret to a Great Blockbuster?

How does Spielberg craft such effective horror scenes in his blockbuster films?  What are three techniques that you've learned in this unit that Spielberg uses?  How does he use them?

    Spielberg crafts such effective horror scenes in his films by . Three techniques that I've learned in this unit which Spielberg uses are , , and . He uses them .

What Makes a Movie Scary

Explain the importance of buildup and payoff in a horror film. What aspects of the example made it scarier?

    Buildup and payoff is key in a horror film in order to . Some aspects of the examples that made it scarier are .

Duvetyne Cloth

What is duvetyne cloth used for?  What is so special about it?  Explain three different uses for it on set and what you should bring in addition to use it.

    A duvetyne cloth is a black flame retardant cloth, which is the same material used on solids and flags. It can be used for a variety of purposes on set. Its so special because they are thick and opaque, preventing light from leaking through, and they are flame retardant so they are safer to use around lights and film equipment. Three different uses for duvetyne on set are to protect walls, black out windows, and to skirt a light. In less professional sets, you can use whatever cloth you want to protect walls, such as socks; however, in professional sets, a duvetyne is standard for this purpose. You can use the cloth to black out windows, which could allow you to film nighttime interior scenes all throughout the day and night without worry of lighting changes. You can also use it to skirt large lights, which can prevent spill. In addition to the cloth, you should also bring clamps and clips so that you can mount the duvetyne for whatever purpose you need it for.

Solids

What does a topper and a bottomer do?  What are cutters used for?  Whats a lenser?  What is a courtesy?

    A topper is used to cover the top of the light, keeping the subject lit but eliminating spill on the background. A bottomer is the same; however, it instead is used to block the bottom, and it can be used to block the subject from the background. Cutters are 2'x6' and, like floppies, can open up, allowing it to become a 4'x6'. These are good for when you have a larger shot and need a longer cut of light. A lenser is simply shading the light that's hitting the lens in order to eliminate lens flare, which can be done in a variety of ways. A courtesy is when you flag a person or monitor in order to eliminate harsh reflections, often when outdoors. This is most typically done with a top hinge floppy, and if the wind is an issue, you can clip the floppy to the stand, or weigh down the bottom using a rod or by clipping some form of weight to it.

Rylee, Guest Speaker Reflection

Refer to our guest speaker post about Rylee yesterday.  Reflect on what you learned in her workshop.  What did you enjoy about it?  What did you find interesting?  What do you want to learn more about?  How can you implement this knowledge into your productions going forward?

    Some things that I learned from her workshop were networking and tips for starting out in the industry. She talked about how the sound mixer community is much smaller compared to other departments. Thus, it is especially important to know other people as they can get you jobs and you can borrow gear from one another. She started out in the industry by going to De Anza and networking with people. A big tip she gave was to cold call/message people and get to know people in the industry so that they may offer jobs to you in the future. Something that I enjoyed about her workshop was getting to see a professional's sound kit. She had an analogue mixer and mic packs, which is different from the all-digital sound equipment that we primarily use. Something that I found interesting was that there aren't really any rental houses for sound gear, so she has to supply all of her own gear and/or borrow gear from other sound mixers. Something that I would like to learn more about is the difference between working professionally vs. working for class projects as I've only ever done crew roles for class productions or for people who are recent alumni of SVCTE so I have little experience of what differences there may be compared to professional sets. I could implement a lot of her tips and knowledge into future productions by being much more proactive in networking and building industry connections so that I could set myself up for the most opportunities.