Decisions, decisions....

 In order to begin my portfolio, me and my team first had to decide on a genre, although hard we have managed to narrow down the options to two, Horror and romance.

I like how for the openings of both horror and romance films, the establishing of a tone and plot can be both engaging and simple, in order to create one that leaves an impact on the viewers.

For the Horror genre, my longtime favorite movie has always been Scream, so it feels more easy for me to create a successful opening, as this is also my favorite genre and I have seen hundreds of examples of openings that are successful, and communicate many elements of a plot, genre conventions, as well as have heavy mis-en-scene usage, something which i feel is necessary for my opening.

Horror films are generally designed to invoke fear, suspense, and anxiety within audiences, and this is something i wanna do through the use of real-life monsters, as the knowledge that something in a horror film could happen to you at any moments adds a layer of horror which i love, something which the film Scream does successfully.

Convention- wise, Horror movies usually have major themes of death, isolation, the unknown, and survival. The major characters usually include the "final girl", masked killers, and skeptics who get proven wrong. They usually include darker lighting, eerie soundtracks that evoke fear from audiences, and raise their heartbeats intentionally, sudden jump scares, and many low angle shots. Horror films also usually follow a "rules of survival" formal, in which characters make silly mistakes, such as checking out the mysterious sounds outside alone, which ultimately lead to their demise.

The opening scene for Scream follows a young girl, Casey Backer who is home alone and receives a mysterious phone call, the tension builds up as the caller, who was initially playful, begins to turn menacing, which eventually leads to a brutal and shocking murder, using many elements of key horror conventions, such as the isolated victim, suspenseful buildups, and a gruesome yet unexpected death.

On the other hand, within the romance genre, romance films usually involve exploring love, relationships, and the hardships that come with them, as well as a strong emotional connection between characters. The two main characters usually are followed in their journeys to overcome obstacles together.

A great example le of this is the movie When Harry Met Sally, a film which examines the complex relationship between two "friends" and the reason they can't stay just friends. The film's dialogue and emotional depth makes it contain all good elements of a romance film, with just enough cheesy scenes to leave one weeping.

The most prevalent conventions within romance films are usually theres of love, destiny, personal growth, and emotional fulfillment. The main character tropes usually include star-crossed lovers, opposites attracting, witty best friends, and a cynical lead with no hopes of love, who learns about love, and embraces it, for the right person. They usually have softer lighting, warm color palettes, and emotionally charged soundtracks that leave audiences crying. Romance movies also usually follow some kind of "meet-cute", emotional conflict, seperation, and later, reunions.

The opening scene of when harry met sally, shows the two beginning a long road trip together, following college, they begin a conversation in which they establish their radically different views on friendship, setting up the films central theme of friendship existing without romantic undertones.

There is a large difference between the two movies, and genres, as unlike with horror in which danger is immediately introduced, romance films usually start-off more lighthearted.