Murder mystery research

 How is it murder mystery?

The genre of mystery can include many different types of films, but I will be focusing on murder mystery. Murder mystery movies are centered on a murder that gets investigated. This genre is quite popular among both genders and is targeted to people aged 16 and up. These movies are for people who like to solve mysteries or puzzles as the movies offer clues and keep the murderer a secret until the end.

Content

Red herrings are commonly used in murder mysteries. A red herring in these films is a character that is used to mislead or distract people from the true murderer. These allow for viewers to suspect someone else so that when the true murderer is revealed they are shocked.

Another common aspect of the films are a central group of suspects. Often times there is a certain group of people seen throughout the whole film that gets investigated until one is revealed as the murderer.

Ex: In knives out (2019) there are 8 main suspects throughout the film.

Detectives are often seen in these films. After discovering a death, a character usually hires a detective to solve the mystery of who killed the victim.

Production techniques

Sounds are often used to add to the suspense and mystery of the film. Sudden silence or a buildup of music does this and it’s usually used on important scenes

Nonlinear storytelling is also used.  Many flashbacks are used to show a character remembering something important to the investigation. It’s also used to gradually reveal crucial details.

Marketing

Clever taglines are created to promote the movies. It  can provoke questions and intrigue, encouraging viewers to want to learn more about the story.

Ex. Clue (1985) uses the tagline “it’s not just a game anymore”

Also, in the movie posters bold fonts are used. They convey the mood of the film

Ex: Zodiac (2007) uses clean font and red which conveys feelings of danger, violence, and blood which adds intensity.

Murder mystery is a good example for a murder mystery film. On a yacht there is a murder and there are about 8-10 main suspects that are investigated throughout the movie. While no actual detective is hired the character Nick spitz is a police and he and his wife investigate the murder aboard the ship. Those 8-10 people were seen as suspects / red herrings distracting from the true murderer. Sound effects like silence add suspense and in some moments a pause or musical drop is used to emphasize humorous moments since this movie is a mystery/comedy. This movie however does follow a linear story, it follows the couple investigating the crime instead of jumping back and forth in time. The movie does have a tagline “First class problems, second class detectives.” This tagline creates intrigue while also including a comedic aspect. The font is bold and the R has a sort of knife look to it adding to the theme of murder.

The movie Knives out: Glass onion is also a classic murder mystery film. There is a group of 6  friends on a private island where each one is later seen as the suspect/ red herring. The detective Benoit Blanc is hired to investigate. Sound effects are used in the movie such as suspenseful music buildup whenever characters are uncovering secrets. This movie does follow non-linear storytelling. Flashbacks are used often as Benoit Blanc discovers new clues to show the characters relationships and motivations. The movie has the tagline “When a tech billionaire ends up dead, everyone is a suspect.” This creates a mysterious tone and hints to the plot. The font is bold and elegant creating a classic mystery feel.

 

More movies to consider:

Representation

 One of my favorite movies is Black Widow. The main characters are Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova, and they are sisters. The movie includes many ethnicities from Russian to Dutch since the widows are from all over the world and its more female led. Both the director and writer are women so there may be some writer's bias since they may want more representation for women which is why its female led, and some men are seen in a bad light such as Draykov being the evil head of the widows and Alexei being a bad father.

The film shows representation in many ways. In the beginning of the movie, it shows Natasha and Yelena as young girls playing outside together, the lighting and colors are warm, and this shows comfort and represents that it's a good memory.  It can remind people of their own memories as a child, and they can even relate with the sister bond. The two of them have a whistle call which adds to their sisterly bond, further representing sisterhood.

There is also representation in their makeup and costumes. Natasha’s makeup was natural allowing viewers to relate and connect with her. Yelena had a smokey eye which showed her expressing herself, making viewers feel comfortable doing the same. The suits they wore were practical. In past movies that the black widow was in, her suit was made tight to accentuate her curves however in this movie she wore a more functional and practical suit to shift the focus to her skills. Yelena also wore a vest throughout the movie that had many pockets further adding to this representation of empowerment in women rather than sexualization.

The movie does not include many stereotypes but one that can be seen is how Russians are evil. The leader of the widows is Draykov a Russian man, he is the main antagonist in the movie, and this can add to the stereotype that Russian are evil or bad. Othering is also seen in the movie as the black widows are brainwashed and trained assassins while the viewers are not.

Natasha and Yelena’s whistle call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RkEDesKU88

Childhood scene: 

Yelena’s costume: 

Sound project

 In class we started learning about sound, what it does and how it’s used. I learned that sound is actually way more complex and important than I initially thought. It adds dimension to scenes, adds emotional impacts, complements visuals, assists viewer perception, and makes visuals more realistic. We also learned about foley artists and stages. I learned that most sounds are filmed separately from unexpected items then edited in to the scene and many sounds are layered together just for one scene.

After learning about sound we started a sound project where we applied what we learned. We had to create a 1-2 minute audio recording that conveys the story of a scene and a minimum of four sounds had to be foleyed ourselves.

My partner and I first began by brainstorming what story we could do and we thought a sports would have lots of sounds to use and we came up with a basketball game. We created an outline where we listed each sound that we would normally hear in  a basketball game. Initially we wanted to have it start in the locker room then the players started to play the game and someone got injured but our brainstorm allowed us to see that it was too long so we shortened it to just the game and a player getting injured. The outline also helped us figure out what sounds were needed and when they would take place. 

We then collected our sounds mostly from youtube but also free sound.org and pixabay.com. We foleyed dialogue, a thump of the player falling, a high five, shoe squeaks, and the basketball being caught. We started editing after that using the software elevate.io. This part was very tedious and time consuming. I learned that it is really difficult to edit. I think we had a lot of good sounds and a good story but we could have edited better and layered a bit more.

Here is the link to our final project: RushBarros_soundscape_Per7

Here is the link to our foley creation process: RushBarros_foley_per7