In my first slide I talked about the basic techniques we can find in this type of genre. Normally this genre contains out of this world creatures that often try to kill us. Normally it has very tense moments and a few jump scares during the course of the film to heighten the audiences fear factor. Lastly I mentioned that usually the characters are at conflict between each other as their instinct to survive takes over.
Next I talked about who the target audience was and why it was based on this figure. I explained that I think they should be at least 15 or over because they contain gore, graphic violence and strong horror in some of them. Its also good for this age group because it is full of tense moments, dramatic twists in the story and plenty of action.
After this I talked about how the characters have a key role within this genre. I explained that usually the main character is the one who is followed in the film and usually the one who survives the ordeal at the end of the film. Other key characters found in this genre are ones that are venerable to show the weakness' of individuals in these situations and also feature the opposite of a person or a group of people wanting to kill the creature and show they're the top predator. Normally these characters fall first or are primary targets for the creature, increasing their risk of being killed.
Next I explained about some of the key features within the genre. I mentioned that mostly with this kind of genre not all of the creature is shown on the screen, but rather small detailed sections of it are instead. In some cases the creature may not show its true form at all for example if it was a parasitic creature or shape shifter. However the only time we may see the creature whole is at the end of the film when the main character confronts it.
Next I started to talk about some of the key aspects of the films such as sound, camera work and special effects. For camera work I mentioned that only small close up shots of the creature are shown. Extreme close ups are used just before someone or something is about to be killed by it and low shots or mid-shots are used to what the creature is doing in terms of movement. For special effects I talked about in modern films that mostly SGI is used, but in older films the creature was either animatronic robots or people dressed up. For the gore, fake blood and fake organs were used to further increase the fear factor. With the sound used I explain tense music is used to build up suspense but silence is also used strongly as well. The sounds of the creature are often recordings of people that are then edited to give them a more alien feel. Some of the modern films still o this but its becoming quite rare now.
After this I gave a few good examples of films within this genre both old and new to show a complex evolution of this genre over the years. I then explained my personal views on why this genre was enjoyable for me and why these films are clear examples of what I enjoy in a film. Finally to finish off I showed 2 clips from Si-Fi Alien films, one from The Thing(1982) and Prometheus(2012). However I had to put up a warning on the PowerPoint because the first clip featured a gory and slightly disturbing and distressing scene for some faint hearted viewers, saying that if anyone did not want to watch the clip they could do so.
The Thing clip (1982)
Prometheus clip (2012)
Over all I think this presentation went very well and people now know a lot about the Si-Fi alien genre of films. Below is my link to the PowerPoint and I hope you enjoy it!
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