Genre Research: Science Fiction

 Camera Angles

• Extreme long shots are used as a large scale of something.

• Long shots are often used to show emotional distance.

• Aerial shots are included more to show settings, not characters.

• Medium shots are used as a way to show visible emotions and often have two characters in frame.

• Dutch angles are used to show things off balanced or unsettling.

• Low angle shots are used to show the character as powerful and strong.

• High angle shots are used to show a character as vulnerable and powerless.

Mis-En-Scene

• Costumes are used to speak to the audience to reflect what is happening or who the character is.

• Lighting often includes white and blue colors that are often used because they mimic the colors connected with technology.

• Acting is an immediate indicator of the important information about a character.

• Props can be used as weapons, high tech machinery, or spaceships.

• Makeup is used to make the characters more realistic and match to the costume.

• Settings can often include space or post-apocalyptic cities or cities with drastic differences to now.

Editing

• Special effects and CGI are heavily used in science fiction to create the director’s vision.

• Quick cuts are another form of editing used to create suspense.

• Color enhancements are often made to make colors look brighter and more exaggerated.

• Some sci fi movies avoid having too much editing and instead attempt to have more of a continuous flow.

Sound

• Science fiction includes exaggerated diegetic sounds.

• Sound effects are often used to sometimes create voice effects for aliens or other noises that would be related to another planet or thing from space.

• Background music is also included as a crescendo to build suspense.

• Calming music is often at the beginning of sci fi movies to make everything seem normal.

Example Films

• The Maze Runner

• Tomorrowland

• Minutemen

• Back to the Future

• Star Wars

Some of the elements that we like in science fiction movies are the different sound effects, the use of props to match costumes and fit the scene, as well as extreme long shots to show a large distance.

The elements in science fiction that do not appeal to us are the calming music in the beginning, quick cuts to create suspense, and aerial shots to show the setting.