Portfolio Project Genre #1

                                   Mystery

I have chosen the genre of mystery for one of my genre blogs as part of my portfolio project for several reasons. One of the reasons I chose mystery is that when making a mystery film, it is character-driven storytelling. It lets my group and me have a deep character development, and you can give a character a little secret. And the mystery genre is very flexible because you can do different things with mystery, like comedy or sci-fi. Mystery is the type of genre make "pizzly story" that invites the audience to play a detective while watching the film. Mystery is also a good genre for my portfolio project because it gives a lot of chances to show my group's skills in writing tight scripts, using visual techniques, and cuts.

The target audience for mystery appeals to a wide range of people but is usually more popular among 15-year-olds to around 30s who love to figure out things. The target audience is also the people who love to watch films that have murder, kidnapping, and disappearance. Mysteries in now todays have to have a lot of plot twists to keep the audience's attention. Also, people who love watching mystery films are the ones who want or wanted to be a detective in their future. Another part of the audience that would love to watch a mystery film is the people who love solving puzzles, psychological and emotional depth plots. The audience is also drawn into films like "Knives Out" that create a sense of justice and closure in a crazy world.

What makes mystery so iconic and interesting is all the film's trailers, posters, and campaigns, even before the film is actually out. For example, the poster focusses of the murder weapon or an object that is important in the story, rather than showing faces or using lines like "Who did it" or "Everyone is a suspect". The people who market the mystery films try to create puzzle trailers, so the people who watch the trailers want to watch the whole film. They love to use withholding key information, and they also create character-centric trailers. Doing this gets the people wanting to watch the films

The genre of mystery is identified by its skills to showcase cryptic problems that the people watching feel compelled to solve, the problem or the mystery of why something happened. The mystery genre is filled with recognizable conventions, but it is also flexible enough to give different themes of mystery, from dark impulses to social issues. There are different conventions of the mystery genre, with content films like unknown events, investigation process, mysterious villain, dystopian setting, and unexpected twists in the story. All of these different conventions of the mystery genre, with content films, make great mystery films. Knowing this helps me a lot with my portfolio project. 

The mystery film genre uses particular techniques and conventions to make the viewers feel a sense of suspense and intrigue while watching the film or trailers. The techniques and conventions used are setting, protagonist, camera work, music, plot structure, and character development that help create a compelling mystery film that stays with the audience and will challenge the traditional norms of today. This helps my group and me to know what we have to focus on when filming the opening of our films.

The two mystery films that stand out are Knives Out and Sherlock. These two films have a lot of mystery, plot twists, and unknown events. For example, Knives Out is a modern masterpiece of a film that use the "Whodunit" sub-genre. It has uncommon suspects and it brilliant, individual detective to overturn the traditional class dynamics while having "fair play" clue-dropping rule. These films represent the mystery genre very well.

With all of this information about the mystery genre, it helps me want to film a two-minute opening because it makes me want to make my own mystery. I would love to work with setting, music, and know how to create a good plot structure. So, I'm probably creating a mystery two-minute opening for my portfolio project.

                                                                  References

Audiences of murder mystery films. (2025). SlideShare; Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/audiences-of-murder-mystery-films/42582757

Codes and conventions of the mystery genre. (2016). SlideShare; Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/codes-and-conventions-of-the-mystery-genre-68585986/68585986

Games, F. N. (2024, April 4). Mystery Riddles: Unlocking the Enigma of Fun and Challenge - Fun Night Games. Fun Night Games. https://funnightgames.com/mystery-riddles/

MasterClass. (2020). What Is the Mystery Genre? Learn About Mystery and Crime Fiction, Plus 6 Tips for Writing a Mystery Novel - 2024 - MasterClass. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-the-mystery-genre

Mystery Genre Conventions. (2001). Prezi.com. https://prezi.com/5mzjb19lq2rf/mystery-genre-conventions/

Ranker Streaming. (2024, March 4). The 40+ Best Mystery Movies On Prime Video. Ranker. https://www.ranker.com/list/best-thriller-mystery-movies-on-amazon-prime/ranker-streaming