Genre Research: Mystery

Commonalities:

Camera Angles/Movements: The most prevalent angles here are close ups and two to three-shots. Mystery movies include many clues usually highlighted by close-ups. There also tend to be many characters in these movies so two-shots and three-shots are very common. Low and high angles are used to provide some variety and define the positions different characters play in the movie.

Mise-en-scene: The costumes and makeup tend to describe the upper-class and the working class, always including a detective character, or the lead on solving the mystery, that dresses for the occasion. The setting is either in one large location, such as a mansion, or a wide variety of locations, such as several businesses in a small town. The lack of in-between can hurt the movie by making it feel too trapped or sporadic.

Editing: As the main character conducts their investigation, shot/reverse shots are used for dialogue scenes and eye-line match's are used to bring focus to the next piece of the puzzle. Every now and then a cutaway is used to establish background information or flashbacks.

Sound: There is very little non-diegetic sound in these movies, except for possibly a faint score. Even ambient sound is kept to a minimum so viewers can focus on solving the mystery than anything else. As expected for movies with many characters, there are high amounts of dialogue.


Film Examples:

- Enola Holmes
- Knives Out
- Detective Pikachu
- Murder on the Orient Express
- Murder Mystery

The Positives:

It can be extremely satisfying to solve an intriguing puzzle along with the protagonist as well as experiencing a good twist. The close ups and two to three shots are some of my favorite camera angles and I plan to use them in my film. I also want to have low and high shots in my project to portray characters in specific lights.

The Negatives:

Mystery movies tend to heavily rely on their plot, which proves to be a double edged sword. On one hand, if the plot is great then the movie becomes very compelling and enjoyable to watch. On the other hand, if the plot is confusing, boring, or predictable then the entire movie becomes bland and undesirable. After you predict the ending twist there's nothing keeping you engaged in the movie, all the problem solving seems unnecessary and boring. Mystery movies can also easily fall into clichés, like "the butler did it," or the main character overreacting to new clues or leads. I want to avoid these clichés in my project to increase its entertainment value.




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