Genre Research: Paradise Hills

Common Camera Angles/Movements:

Besides the standard medium shots, there were many low angle and over-the-shoulder shots in this movie. Toward the beginning there were a few well placed aerial shots, although those lessened as the movie went on. As for movements, panning left, right, and around was consistent through the movie.

Common Mise-en-scence:

The main setting of this movie, a private brainwashing facility on an island, had everyone in elegant costumes and make-up. The acting in this movie was subpar in my opinion. It may be due to the writing, but I felt the characters were cliché not only in their relations to the main character but also in the stereotypes they very obviously portrayed. Plus, the lighting in this movie was vivid and unique. The setting used many different colored lights and the futuristic time period allowed certain lights to wrap around the characters in a unique way.

Common Editing:

The only editing styles here were shot-reverse-shots, cross cutting, and eye-line match's. There was maybe one or two fades in and out and a cutaway, but I don't think the movie needed a wider variety of editing. 

Common Sound:

The ambient sound was heavily used in this movie and some non-diegetic sound was used over the ambient noise. Occasionally, the ambient noise and non-diegetic sound would rise above the dialogue. 

Thriller elements in the movie:

The main thriller qualities of this movie are shot-reverse-shots and ambient sound. There was also dialogue and and a cutaway but the list ends there. This doesn't necessarily detract from the movie, but it makes it very unique in the genre.

The Good Elements:

My favorite parts of this movie were the aerial shots, lighting tricks, and ambient noise. The aerial shots, while few, were creative and stylized in a way that revealed many details about the scene. The unique lighting was fun, but may be hard to implement in my own film. Finally, the use of ambient noise to set or add to the mood of the scene was fantastic.

The Bad Elements:

My main gripes with this movie are the non-diegetic sounds and the acting. I have no problem with non-diegetic sound, but here it was laid over ambient noise and the result was becoming too loud and complicated and overshadowing the dialogue. The acting, as previously mentioned, wasn't terrible but was below average. The characters felt exaggerated and predictable, with little unique qualities to them.




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