Making a Movie- Editing

 We finally started editing today. There wasn't that much to edit since I was only sent the final scenes. She did not send me every single one that was filmed. The only difficult part for today was deciding which Billie Eilish song we wanted to use and where we were going to put it. We were thinking that maybe we could just. split it up into different parts of the movie. Or maybe we could use multiple songs, because there are a lot that would be good for our film. Billie Eilish makes really chill/slow mellow music so it kind of fits our scene. So she's a good singer to have in a coming of age movie. Especially since she is close to our age. While we were editing we watched new baking shows on Netflix. We both love baking shows. They are super fun to watch. I really like the ones where the people can’t actually bake. We did most of this over zoom. We did that so we could still be involved together as a partnership. I mean it was the next best thing. Overall, I was glad we made progress. Well i’ll talk to you guys later on more progress. So long!

Making a Movie- Filming

 Filming started and they decided to change a lot of stuff. As previously stated I wasn’t there for the filming. So I will share the information gathered from my partner. Since it was the middle of the night they couldn't take the bus. So they decided to just film in her mom’s car. It was the only place available. Which does sort of change the narrative. They also decided to film her mom’s scenes with just her in the room. Later on my partner will fill in with her voice later. They also changed some of the lines. They did that because some of them didn't make sense in the places that they were in. Our storyboard was extremely helpful but they did end up changing most of the camera angles She couldn't figure out how to get her phone to attach to the ceiling. They also had so many outtakes. When her and three other actor filmed their scenes and it literally used most of her storage. That’s the most I’ve heard from her so far. From what I have I think I can begin to edit. I was really glad to hear this. This means that we can get more things done. I think next blog will be about editing. 

Making a movie- Receiving Footage

As a recap in the end my partner and I decided that she would film and I would edit. That way nobody is left doing all the work because of a few bumps in the road. And also that If anything were to be re-filmed that we could make good use of time by working simultaneously on re-filming and editing. Which is hitting two birds with one stone. I also expressed that I would check in every night with her to see her individual progress. So that is what I did. I finally started to receive some footage. So now I can start to edit. So that no one is left out we came up with a way that both of us can be apart of editing. We decided that we were going to zoom call. So we set a date. On that day we will chat. I will also share my screen to show the work I am doing. The reason we did this is so that we could both have our input on the project. Since I have some footage so far I will start to prepare. I will start by ordering the scenes. That way it will be easier to blend clips. It’ll be easier to cut clips as well. I will also be easier to add transitions. I think maybe the next blog or the blog after that will be my editing blog.

Making a Movie- Update 2

 As I said before the filming day that was planned from before was ruined. That was because they ended up bailing last minute. It made me upset and that whole situation was stupid. So, in place of filming our actors my partner should be   filming the mother’s part. So I am still waiting for updates on that. I doubt that anything was done yesterday. That’s because yesterday was christmas. I don’t thing there was anything done today since it’s only the day after christmas. And with that there’s the fact that this a time for family. But I don’t know i’ll probably check later. This whole time we’ve been just talking about how we are going to do things. My main concern is time. I feel like if I could’ve been there for filming then we could’ve gotten more things done. This pandemic has been so inconvenient. Like it’s so frustrating. It sucks that we can’t just plan things and do it. It’s like just to plan one thing we have to plan a million other things. Honestly I am so over this pandemic. It’s like even if you don’t have covid your life is still being messed up. This whole thing sucks. If I could go back to the time where things can be done without these extra precautions. The more I think about it I didn’t think it could get any worse back then but I was mistaken.

Making a movie- Filming Fiasco

 So unfortunately the people that we were supposed to film didn’t show. They ended up bailing last minute. I was happy since they initially agreed. But at the very last second they said they couldn’t do it. Which is stupid of them. But, then again as filmmakers we should be prepared for everything. So, in place of filming our actors my partner is going to film the mother’s part. I am going to share how I came to figure this out. First she sent me her blog instead of explaining to me what had happened. I am assuming she didn’t this so that she wouldn’t have to re-explain the situation. I was literally so upset. This had been planned four days before the mishap. Initially i thought that there was no plan after this. So then I asked what we were going to do about this. She had finally revealed to me that she was going to film her mom's part in place of the filming that was initially supposed to take place. I was wondering why she didn’t explain that in the blog. But she than said she would reveal the plan in a later blog. Why you may ask, for dramatics of course. I thought that was really funny. I’ll put some screenshots here.

Making a movie: Update

Hey guys so here’s an update. Right now I am waiting for an update from my partner. What I’ve gathered so far is that my partner is shopping for props. She thought she had them but I didn’t. So she has to go shop for them. She needed a box, tripod, and a necklace. Her mom said she can use her tripod. She is thinking about making matching bracelets for Rose and Carmen. She might use an old necklace for the one Carmen gives to Rose. I think she’s also going to buy a box from dollar tree. The reason why is because apparently they have this new thing called craft corner. It’s supposed to have a ton of arts and crafts stuff. They have a lot of little treasure chests/ jewelry boxes. So she’s going to use one of those and just paint it to look nice. So really the only shopping she’s going to do is getting the jewelry box. Thank goodness she had most of the stuff. If she didn’t I could’ve lended her some of the stuff. Since she said she had it covered there was no worries. Stay tuned for the next update!

Making a movie: Filming

 

I’m still awaiting progress from my partner. So as of right now I am unsure of whether or not she’s filmed. She might have or she might not have. Things are very hard in these trying times. Honestly that is no excuse and we should’ve done better. I really wish that we had started earlier. If we had then we wouldn’t be in this mess. I only have a few days to finish everything. If we can have filming done in two days and editing done in less than two days that would be great. That way we would have plenty of time to re-film and re-edit. I am going to try my best to try my best to make this go as smoothly as possible. Especially with the little time we have left. Also because I can’t be there to film. If that means having to nag my partner everyday than I will do it. I am hoping that there will be no need to re-film. If that miracle happens then we wouldn’t have to worry too much. So now I will check in with my partner everyday. I will do it to make sure everything is going correctly so that I can eventually do my part. I believe that she can do it so I am not too worried. With that being said I will continue to update my blog to tell my progress. 

Making a Movie: Song rights

Unfortunately, we were still unable to film when we planned to. We had to do something productive to make up for lost time. So, in the meantime we contacted people for music rights. My partner was able to get a hold of Billie Eilish‘s manager. Eventually she got the rights to a song. Now that we have that established we have filming and editing left. Due to certain circumstances my partner and I will not be able to film and edit together in person. After some planning and talking over my partner and I came to an agreement. We rationalized the problem. In the end we decided that she would film and I would edit. That way nobody is left doing all the work because of a few bumps in the road. Although we don’t have much time left filming shouldn’t take too long. If anything were to be re-filmed that we could make good use of time by working simultaneously on re-filming and editing. Which is hitting two birds with one stone. Along with the footage I will receive her and I will also update our social media’s to promote the film. Our plan may not sound traditional but we will make it work. All we need to do is follow through with our plan. This is our last resort and it has to work or else we are doomed. I will continue to update on our journey and it’s complexity.  

 

Update on filming

As I mentioned before I don't have a phone at the moment. Therefore, I can only email. It's hard getting ahold of friends through email these days. I've emailed my partner to see which days are good for her to film. I still haven't gotten anything back from her yet. I'm really hoping she answers soon. I'm hoping that we will be able to film within the first two weeks of December. If we can't then we can use the last two weeks for editing. That way we won't have to rush as much. I really wasn't expecting this project to be so difficult. In these times almost everything is difficult. And it is really unfortunate. I'm going to keep trying to get in contact with her. Hopefully, she answers within an acceptable time frame. I'm willing to do whatever is in my power that can help ease this process. This dilemma that I am in has taught me a lesson. The lesson is that communication is key especially in these trying times. This is not how I wanted things to turn out. I'm just going to have to work with what I've right now. I guess that's just what will have to happen.

What Happened

 My partner and I were supposed to begin filming this week. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I said that there were going to be more bumps in the road than expected so I can't really complain that much. My partner and I are just going to have to work around it. So we will have to start filming later than planned. Which may mean having to rush things a bit. This isn't really what I wanted to do. We're just going to have to make do with the time we have. It's unfortunate but these things happen. Since there was a break from school all that I could rely on was communication. I don't have a phone at the moment so the only form of communication I had was email. Nowadays people don't use email much. So it was hard to contact my partner. What was even worse was that we had a break from school. That meant that she was definitely not going to check her email. I really hope that things will smooth out after we return to school. If they don't then we are in a big predicament. That would be too stressful. I'm going to continue to be positive in this situation though.

Social Media

 As of now my partner and I have completed our marketing platforms. We are using social media as a way for our film to get out in the open. We are using the most relevant social media sites. Websites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We also have a website that has all the links to our socials. It wasn't until making the social that we had a name for the film. On these socials we will be updating followers, posting behind the scenes footage, and things of that sort. The socials are all controlled by one email so that there is no confusion. With all these situated I am hoping that we can move on to the next step. That should hopefully be getting rights to music.

Originally I was supposed to be in charge of our social media marketing. Unfortunately, there was a turn of events. My partner and I will have to switch roles for a little bit but we will make it work. Which means she is now in charge of social media. Because of these events it is hard for us to communicate. Since email is not as popular as regular text messaging nowadays. There will be a few more bumps in the road than expected. I know it will all work out. Although these are challenging times I am very optimistic about what is to come. 

Storyboard for short film

Storyboarding for this film was a lot harder than any of the other projects we have had to storyboard for. It was a lot of drawing involved and having to refer back to the script to make sure they were exactly the same. We got a lot of scenes wrong. Like we had to keep stopping and erasing because we had messed up some of the boxes. For example for the scene where Roses mom finds out, I had written that she found out from a note. But then once checking the script I realized she finds out by reading messages, so I had to change that. The worst part was having to keep referring back to the screenplay and having to make everything the same. It was also hard to remember the difference in lengths because for the screenplay each page is 1 minute of screen time but for the storyboard, each page is 30 seconds. So it was a little hard to stretch the pages for the storyboard because it was mostly dialogue. I think the storyboard will make filming a lot more difficult because it will be hard to get it exactly like how we drew it out. I think it's going to be hard to get the angles we want, like the aerial. I think we're probably gonna stand on a high surface then film that way. 

Planning for Short Film

 Schedule: 

10-3-2020: screenplay finished

11-9-2020: storyboard begins

11-12 -> 11-20-2020: casting

11-23 -> 11-27-2020: begin filming

12-21 -> 12-31-2020: finish filming

1-1 -> 1-3-2021: finalize editing

Location: 

-Train station

-Bus stop

-Bus

-Participants houses(TBA)

 Participants:

-Khiara

-Nagual

-Actors(TBA)

Props: 

-Bags

-Clothes

-Phones 

-Headphones

-Jewelry

Costumes:

-Casual clothing

-Maybe some nightwear.

Health and Safety: There will be parental supervision whenever it is possible. Taking corona virus into consideration we will have all participants tested and ensure the wearing of masks and sanitizing to keep everyone safe. We will also keep a first aid kit handy.

Short Film vs. Feature Length Film

 I honestly liked both of these films. But if it came down to it I think I liked the feature-length film more. One of them had more than the other. Something that the short film had that the extended one didn't was the use of body language even though there were no words you could still feel the story. I do feel like the short film was robbed of some things but I think that was because of the timing of the film. The extended film had a lot more action. I liked how they incorporated some of the scenes from the short film. They even added to them. They did switch up the characterism in the two though. In the first one nine was the only one who had survived. He was also the only one fighting off the machine. In the extended film, it was more of a team effort even though, he did make the most effort. He wasn't the only one to survive in that one he was alongside three, four, and seven. I feel that the longer one more quality than the shorter one. For example, there was more of a backstory and information that was included in the film. There were also more key details in the longer one. There wasn't a drastic difference both had the same main points. They both had the same moral ending. I really admire that they stayed true to the ending. 

Research 9, the feature film

I was not expecting all of the turns of events in this feature film. When I thought it was going to end something else came up. The twists and turns were amazing. How they did it was a great way to keep this film going. I loved the plot. When the ninth doll woke up he didn't realize what was happening. So, he went to go explore and find out. He then found others like him. They explained everything to him. They said that they were hiding from the machines that were out to get them. Despite number nine being the youngest he kept trying to convince the others to come out of hiding and end the terror once and for all. Eventually, he did. They defeated the machines and set the others free as their "happy ending". Some character developments that really stuck out to me was number one and number seven. Number one was hardheaded and fearful throughout the whole film but in the end, he sacrificed himself for the others that were left. Number seven was fearless and never stopped trying to defeat the machines but after a while, she started to give up. The whole film was animated and action-packed. The Characters are hand-sewn dolls that are operated by mechanics. It is only the dolls and the machines in the lifeless and post-apocalyptic world that is left for them.

 

Research 9, the short

Today I watched a short film called 9. I found it interesting how the story could still develop nicely without dialogue. The majority of the film, I think, were flashbacks. I saw number nine grow from his losses which was a nice character development. Some of the characters were like ragdolls. There was also a robot spider thing. It was a skeleton but with metal. It was kind of creepy. It had the vibes of a toy story but if it was a kids thriller. The lighting was mostly dark. Also, there wasn’t that much speech. The main character was a ragdoll. The main antagonist was the cat thing. I feel like the film was him looking back at what happened. A part of the plot was him avenging the other dolls. Another thing I liked was that the plot didn’t move too fast. Even though it was short it didn’t rush the plot. Which was really good. Overall, I thought that this was a nice little film.

Genre Choice for Film

 In a previous blog, I mentioned that my partner and I were researching genres. From those we researched, we had to pick one where our film would fit perfectly. We ended up picking coming of age. We picked this one by thinking of the scenarios and instances that would go better with each genre. This genre was chosen because the type of film and storyline fit better with it. Coming of age provides a lot of different elements that are relatable to younger audiences. It would allow my partner and I to see what really makes an audience relate to this film. Even more so, it would help us to put our ideas out there. It would also help us improve more as filmmakers. Coming of age will show all the hardships she will go through. Those hardships all lead up to her finding herself and who she is. There will be incorporations of some drama and romance. These are only minor details forming her growth or “coming of age”. The main idea of the story is coming of age. Luckily there is no need to change the pitch. The pitch matches up with the genre perfectly. We will use what we researched while making the film. Now that I have those things sorted out I can continue on to the next step. I am so excited for what is to come!

Genre Research- (Romance, Drama, Coming of Age)

 This Google slide shows research for genres drama, romance, and coming of age

Genres I Would Like to Research

 Now that I have made my pitch I can start to explore genres where this film would fit in. As you can see, I am taking quite a shift from my previous project. This time around I will be researching the genres: coming of age, romance, and drama. I am researching these genres specifically because the film will possibly fall into one of these categories. In this new film contrasts in beliefs are presented. This then creates tension between the characters. We can stem out from those conflicts and create a whole drama film. There is also an idea that there is a young girl coming to a realization about herself. She is finding herself throughout the whole story and figuring herself out and learning the further she goes on. This, in turn, can be a coming of age film of her finding who she is. In the pitch, I mentioned that she will run off with her girlfriend. Everything she does could be for love. Maybe everything will tie into her love for her girlfriend. Having the whole film revolve around love which would make it a romance film. There are so many possible genres for it to fall into. We can't know for sure which one will be the one we go with. Depending on which approach my partner and I take while planning this film we can determine which genre it will be. I will be sharing the research next blog. After evaluating the research an discussing with my partner I will be able to determine the genre of the film. 

The Pitch!!!

A girl that is having trouble being accepted by her parents about her sexuality eventually runs away to live her life freely with her girlfriend.

My Group!!

 Hey guys, for today's blog we're going to be talking about what happened with my group in the past week. Last week my teacher went over what our ultimate goal for the class was. As she was going over the details one of my friends in the class texted me and asked if I wanted to be in her group. So, of course, I said yes because I had nobody else to work with. I mean it was either that or working by myself and you know what they say, two brains are better than one. At that point, it was only her and I and we had somewhat already envisioned our idea for the film. She went and asked her friend if he wanted to be in our group but, he didn't get back to her yet. I had a friend ask to be in our group but since I already had an idea figured out he didn't really want to work me anymore. Today was our deadline to figure out our group. Her friend still didn't get back to her. So, guess what, she and I will be the dynamic duo for this project. I will be splitting the responsibilities evenly among her and me to get things done more efficiently. We are both very passionate about this project in particular. I think I want it to embody us and our personalities in some way. I will establish that when we build onto the initial idea. This project should be way different than the last. I am so excited for you guys to see what I have in store. Honestly, I cannot wait I really want to tell you right now what I have planned but unfortunately, I can't. Thank you for tuning in on my blog today, until next time guys.

Welcome Back!

 Hey, guys its Nagual! It's been a long 3 months but I'm back and better than ever. I am so excited for what's to come this year. This time around it shouldn't be too hard, since I already know the basics of this class. I feel that my skills have improved. The first few assignments were super easy. I hope it's just like last year. I already have an idea of what to do. I feel like this film is going to be so much better than the last. I think I feel that way because I'm more passionate about this project. I really want to feel a connection to this project and live through it. With this pandemic still going I really don't know how this is going to play out. Of course, I will have to take all precautionary measures before we get into action. With certain restrictions, some things may be difficult to execute. I'm hoping for this best and hoping that I'll overcome the obstacles and make this film to the best of my abilities. I also want to put more effort into this film than I did in the last one. This journey is going to be so fun and I can't wait. I will keep you all posted on the events in the near future. Thank you guys for tuning in and welcoming me back, I look forward to our journey through this project.

Music Video

This is the music video my team and I did. This was the first project we had to do outside of school. The song we did is called Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves. This song is in the Pop-rock genre and was recorded in 1983. We chose this song because since my group members and I live in Florida, it seems fitting with the weather. We liked the upbeat tempo and the cool-sounding nature of the song. We had everything figured out, at least we thought we did. We didn't realize we had extra time and had to improvised

Then we had to decide on and outro dance. We went over several things. First we thought about dancing at the shore. There was another idea but I don’t remember. After brainstorming we came up with an outro. It was the perfect one. Since Safia was the last one to leave the frame she had to do it for longer but she kept messing up. We had to take that a few times. After a while we were done and it was time to pack up and go home. This was a nice filming and producing experience. I was more prepared for the next one after this one.

Movie

     This is the movie that my team and I made. We made this with a set of rules in place. We had to use certain angles and include titles. A lot of hard work and research went into this movie. I had to do research on genre. Even though I had done that before I had to do research on a different genre than before. I did action research in the past but this time I did my research on horror. I did my research on horror because that is the genre of this movie. I also had to do research on titles. Things such as fonts, placement, etc. 

This movie is about three girls that are being terrorized by a werewolf man. He kills off two of the three and leaves the last one to become what he is. Everything had to correspond to the genre. From the lighting to the make-up to the font of the titles. This was also filmed out of school so the only resources we had were each other and our notes.  This movie took a lot of time and planning. Also a lot of cleaning on my part since it was shot at my house. I think this is the project that improved my production skills the most. This project was stressful yet fun. Overall this was an amazing filming experience.

Commercial

        Conventions and Codes in Nike commercials include the symbolic swoosh, added with a "JUST DO IT" slogan. This slogan sparks the media to just go for it. Also to accomplish goals and reach new heights. In the commercial the props are always angled to show the Nike symbol to let the audience know it is a Nike commercial, even without stating the name. The symbol has become universal so they know. The commercial can sometimes include ethos- showing famous athletes. Actors and even signers as a way to show that everyone, even the richest, sport Nike wear. And so do everyday civilians. We had to use all of our own props. We struggled to get some of the things but we pulled through.

This is the commercial we shot at the beginning of the school year. That meant we were new to this and had no idea how to do this. We did this on campus so we weren't that lost, if anything we could just go to class and ask for help. This commercial is for the Nike brand. It advertises things such as shoes, clothes, and a water bottle. It shows the flexibility and usefulness of their products. We used conventions such as close-ups, tracking shots, etc. My group and I came together to organize our ideas. We put together the locations of shooting, the props, costumes, schedules, and our back-up plan for our project. By doing so we got ready for shooting and prepared for everything.  

CCR

https://youtu.be/nJSXXHCYL9M

This is my CCR on my movie. These are basically questions asked about the conventions, distribution, and development skills. I talk about how we had to use certain angles and include titles. In the video I had to verbally answer questions as if I was explaining it. The CCR is different for each project. I also answer how it represents social groups. I explain how and which audiences engage with the product. I go into how we used technology provided. I included some of the technologies used.

 Everything had to correspond to the genre. From the lighting to the make-up to the font of the titles. This was also filmed out of school so the only resources we had were each other and our notes.  This movie took a lot of time and planning. I  talked about what I'd learned from this project specifically. I was definitely more involved in this project. that was because I'd done things like this before. I think this is the project that improved my production skills the most. I say that because this is the project that needed the most components and effort put into it. I tried to make this video CCR more entertaining by adding gifs. 

Filming: AGAIN

This blog is about filming. For now the filming process is finished until we feel the need to re-film. That scene that we filmed was the wolf street scene. That was the scene where Steven had the wolf mask and chased Carla. One thing that was extremely important was the lighting. For this scene, the lighting was shined directly in both their face. Originally this was because it was hard for the camera to get them because of how dark it was outside. When the bright phone lights and night sky contrasted it looked like a black background which was really cool. This is also helped give off the the effect of a horror scene. A lot of  ewww these scenes were affected by the lightning.

Another scene that was affected was the pool running scene. This was scene where Safia and Steven recorded Carla running through the gates of the pool door. This scene had to be re-filmed because of the time difference and how dark it was outside. This meant that one scene had a pinkish evening sky while another had a night sky, which looked off. So I did about four takes of until we were satisfied. The same thing was basically done for the backyard running scene. This is where Carla is running behind the house to get outside. Once that was done all the outside lighting seemed balanced. This helped make a good transition into the last scene. The dim evening lighting of the film helped give a sense of suspicion and horror.

Re-re-editing

This blog will be about the re-editing process. The background music was finally able to be added to the film. The music that we ended up being chosen was called Dark Fog and Anxiety. How the music was put on their was by using an mp3 converter. You can find one by typing in “mp3 converter” into the search engine. The first one that popped up was free and easy to use so we went with that. After that we went on the music site and clicked on the horror genre. I listened to the sounds again and rewatched the scene it would go in. This is to make sure if that sound was appropriate for the scene. Then we downloaded the sounds onto the laptop.

We downloaded those two songs, we went to files to check if it was there. Once it was recognized that they were there we had to see what file it was in. This is because when it’s to add the music to background, it’s categorized by the file type and name. The file type for this was mp3, which is for multimedia files. I really like the outcome once the sound was put in the video. This couldn’t have been done on the phone it’s a large file to download and then convert. Overall, after the re-editing process, the video is now done. Once the video was finished we watched it to see how it looked. Then we watched it again to see it anything else needed to change. The outcome was really nice, I loved it.

Re-re-filming

For this blog I’m talking about the refilming process. A lot of the clips were re-filmed because things like the difference in some shots or the quality. The first that was re-filmed was the tracking shot. The first time we did it on a skateboard, this time it was done with a car. After that was the things falling and door closing scene. In this, I was just talking with everyone else until we heard stuff fall. After that, the door was open and went to close it. The next scene that was re-filmed was Carla’s running out the house shot. Safia stood outside behind the radiator and gave  the signal for she should start running. That part was re-filmed at two different times of the day.

During this filming session all the shots that were needed were done. When it the starting to later, even though it was just seven the sun had completely went away. And the scenes were where the wolf attacks Carla. Because it was dark outside, I had to hold the phone flashlight right by the camera sometimes. And this same step had to be repeated for when recording Steven. In order to get everybody to my house I had to bring Safia on my bus. She had to find an administrator to get a bus pass. It was taking up more time than it should have. He had to come talk to the bus driver. But,
it was a good re-filming experience.

Peer Review

     Last week we were told we were supposed to do a peer review. But I completely forgot until I walked into second period on Monday confused. I was given a paper to fill out after watching my fellow peers film. Which is the paper above. I watched the film a few times to evaluate it as thoroughly as possible. I had to evaluate things about their film and whether they met requirements.Things such as the angles and shots required, lighting, and sound. I also had to put down the time stamps for the required shots. I got put in some feed back myself as well.

      For the first part the sheet asked about the duration and the quality of the video. The film did not meet the requirement of 1:50-2:00 (minutes) it was instead a total of 0:39 (seconds). The transitions were smooth. The titles, so far, were ordered correctly. The titles were also evenly spread out. The lighting overall was pretty decent. The sound was also pretty good quality. There were no tripods or other people filming, etc. in those shots. My personal input was that the lighting in the monitors room should be a little darker. The actors should also speak a little louder so that the camera catches everything.

Filming: Making of the Madness pt.2

     Today we had everyone except for Steven. That meant that we all had to take turns filming. I got a lot done and it was a very productive day. Since we had to refill some scenes we thought of certain was to make it better. We had to make the running scene less shaky and that’s what we did. Safia was on a skateboard holding the camera as I was behind her hold her and running to catch that shot perfectly. We had to take that scene a few times in order to get it close to perfect. First we had to figure out whether we were going to use the bicycle or the skateboard. Then I had to figure how to hold Safia. I also had to figure out how fast to run in order to get the shot.

      Since Safia wasn’t here last film day we didn’t get to film the scenes with her in them. Today we did and it was pretty successful. We also redid more scenes. We redid the scene where I greeted Carla at the door. This time we could continue on to the next part where Safia greets Carla. We also got to film the parts where Carla finds the bodies. We filmed Carlas reaction and how the bodies were placed. Carla did our make-up and made it look as if our faces were scratched and bloody. There was one problem, we didn’t have fake blood. So Carla ended up mixing some ketchup and water for the blood effect. 

Editing blog: Making of the Madness

    We got the into class the day after filming and dumped. Carla is better at editing so we let her handle it. She merged the different clips so the would all come together for this piece. Along the way she showed us how the clips were edited. Since we didn’t get to finish filming she just edited what she could. While Carla edited Safia helped look for music to go along with the film. Even though it was incomplete it was still coming together nicely. Throughout the process of editing she pointed out some flaws in the filming. For some of those clips she could just crop and make them look better. Some of these clips unfortunately have to be done over.

      While the editing was happening I was thinking about how our filming schedule would work out. I was also thinking about how the future clips would be edited. Since there was barely any footage to edit Carla did with what we had. The editing for that moment was complete. My team and I then started to discuss future plans. We discussed when the next filming day was going to be. We have to work around Steven and Carla’s schedules due to the fact that they’re busier. Carla later went to go check out a camera. We had a bit of a problem on who would hold on to the camera over the weekend. I ended up being the person to keep the camera since we’re filming at my house.

Filming blog: Making of the Madness

    Before leaving for school saw Safia an reminded her that we had to film. She was struggling with transportation and later realized she couldn’t come. So, we all decided to work around most of the scenes. That meant that we could only film the parts without Safia. I arrived at my house later and started to somewhat clean and prepare for guests. Shorty after Carla arrived and started to set up for shooting. We had time to charge the camera and go over the game plan before Steven got there. Not too much time passed and Steven gets here. We go over the plan with him. With that begins our filming. 

      We started with the scene where she’s jogging. We went outside to go film it, it took a few tries but we got everything for that scene. For that scene I had to text Carla but she accidentally opened it the first time so I had to text again. After filming all of that we moved it inside because it started raining and the camera was about to die. We put the camera to charge and then move one to the next scene. This took quite a few times to get it right bc we couldn’t really figure out how to do it and we were running out of battery life. Since Safia couldn’t come we couldn’t film most scenes. We got to film the cup/ knife transition. We also got to film part of her running away form the monster which was honestly very fun. Then we decided to wrap it up for the day. 

     

Storyboard

The purpose of the storyboard is to plan out the entirety of the film.  The storyboard is divided into scenes. For each scene we had to put the camera angles used. As the storyboard illustrates, we start with and establishing shot of carla running. Next is a tilt shot of my house, this is to show to setting and mood quickly change. After that Is an action match scene where I am grabbing a cup transcends into the killer grabbing a knife. This immediately cut off by the title and credits of the movie. After this we focus on the glass breaking sound because that’s where the storyline starts to really pick up. For the rest of the storyboard it’s mainly how the wolf gets each of us which consists of a lot of high angle, medium shots, and close up. Lastly, we finish the storyboard with a close up of the killer saying one last thing.

Title Design

In these slides show how the title will be designed. Font, contrast, spacing, tracking, and working title will be looked over in these slides. We’ve picked a font that gives off a horrific appeal and looks like it’s dripping blood. We have also chosen to use a PlayFair display in semi-bold. For the contrast we will be using green and black. The line spacing will stay at 1.15 so it’s easy to read. For tracking there will be no spacing between letters. My groups working title is “MUTANT”. This title will be in a bold dripping style. I would love to see at the end and see how they appeal to the film.

Location, Participants, Health, & Schedule

In these slide it shows the measures my group and I have and are going to take to make sure this project runs as smooth as possible. For the location we’ve decided on an abandoned place or someone’s house. That will later be determined. The participants include the four members of my group, Carla, Steven, Safia, and myself. We will be doing scenes that involve different angles and will be handling props. We will have parental supervision at the side just in case of anything. In order for all of this to work we have invoked a schedule. This schedule includes planning, location conformation, etc.  By following these things I hope filming will run smoothly. I’m very eager to see the outcome.

Shooting Script

This google slide is the shooting script for the film. It includes all the camera angles and movements in the film. It also includes some details for the lighting as well. There are a total of 10 scenes for this product. The google slides breaks down the scenes without any dialogue, just actions. The names of the actors are shown as the "victims". The "killer" appears a few times with few actions. The lighting throughout will be dim. The slides also include more specific actions that will be in the film. So, overall, this google slide will show what each scene will be broken into and what will be included in the film, with no dialogue or sound included.

Dialogue and Sound Script

This is a google slide on the dialogue and sound of the script. There's a total of 10 scenes, each detailed with the sound and actions of the actors. This google slide also presents some of the script with more details. There are a range of shots and angles included as well with each scene. They include over-the-shoulder, high angles, low angles and so on. Each scene has one to two shots/angles. Some scenes may have no dialogue but there will be a song playing throughout the film. The sound will increase towards the end of the film. The dialogue is few but shows the key conversations made. The killer only has a few lines but creates a more mysterious feeling.

Title Research: The Number 23

Retrieved from: Watch The Titles

Movie: The Number 23

Genre: Horror

• How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

Their are 27 titles in the opening sequences of the film.  This is counting all the actors/actresses as one whole title, while adding effects and transitions to give it some pop and stand out. 

• What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

Hence the title being The Number 23, its quite obvious the number 23 is going to be scattered, and since its a horror movie they add effects and transitions to give it that scary illusion.  

• What connotations do the images carry? 

The images in the opening scene come off as sketchy and creepy, it gives the feeling off a computer screen being hacked or glitched.  It also seems like their is a higher power or spirit in control of these coincidences and reasons for these numbers appearing.  

• How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The music that plays through the opening sequence of the film has old classical music and adds to the horror genre by giving it a creepy feel to it. The conventional codes of a horror are followed through the dullness of the introduction, giving a feeling of the older ages. 

• How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? 

The titles are all drawn out to be cut up and broken up to give that effect towards the viewers.  The introduction shows a screen and its edited to make it appear as the screen is getting hacked.  

• What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

Adding all of the effects to give off that spooky and terrifying feeling of uncertainty.   

• How has technology been used effectively? 

Technology allows the creators to make all these different edits and transitions that weren't possible.  It also gives the creators more room to play with while interpreting how to put the number 23 into the movie in different ways that tie into this "horror" theme.   

Title Research: The Final Destination

Retrieved from: Art of the title website Movie: The Final Destination (2009) Genre: Horror How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?  There are 21 titles to the opening sequence, the last title always being directed by. What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?  The images that were prioritized in the opening sequence were mainly x-rays of different parts of the human body. Along with that, there are also x-ray images of a car wreckage and power tools that would be used in anatomy or surgery. What connotations do the images carry?  The images carry a very scary and chilling yet complex feeling. It kind of gives you an insight into the chaotic nature of the film, by showing the x-rays' human bodies being attacked by the tools. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The sound effects that are played after each violent action gives off a dangerous and chaotic feel, which in turn and adds to the horror genre. The conventional codes of a horror are the display of images that would be seen as disturbing to an everyday audience along with the loud metal music, this is meant to make the audience feel not at ease.   How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?  It's established through the use of the images that were displayed. The images that were displayed showed things like the harming of the human x-rays in different scenarios that were there. The enigma that surrounds horror is the idea of making the audience feel unsettled and on the edge of the seat expecting there to be more.  What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?  The target audience for this movie are teenagers or young adults. The strategies that were used to ensure that the film appealed to this audience was the background music, which was metal, and the uses sound effects that were used to depict what is going on. These are things that wouldn't really appeal to an older audience. How has technology been used effectively?   The mainly technology that was used was editing. The editing technique was mainly used effectively when trying to give off the 3D and x-ray effect. The effect helped add some realness and urgency to the tone of the movie. Also, the background music and sounds that were used did a really good job in depicting common elements in a horror movie while still try to appeal to the target audience.

Title Research: Two Eyes Staring

Retrieved from: Watch the Titles website
Movie: Two Eyes Staring (2010)
Genre: Horror

• How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? 

There are 14 titles to the opening sequence, the last title always being directed by.

• What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? 

They use symmetrical ink blot style effects for almost every title showing the idea of there having to do with two's. Within the symmetrical figures it shows clips of two girls, paper eye masks, and journal entries or letters. In one it show someone putting some type of powder into water.

• What connotations do the images carry? 

The images carry a dark and creepy feeling with them. It shows two similar looking girls alone outside in a garden type scenery by a pond, which in most cases never ends well. They also show some type of writings and it looks like they're either writing to someone or taking notes on someone.   

• How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The music that plays through the opening sequence of the film has old classical music and adds to the horror genre by giving it a creepy feel to it. The conventional codes of a horror are followed through the darkness of the introduction and the blurring of some of the clips along with the mysterious energy that is meant to perplex the audience on the situation.

• How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? 

 The titles show the effect of decaying images that kind of open up into the ink blots. He uses innocent looking images to show a sense of threat that foreshadows the atmosphere of the movie. The ink blots were originally used in psychological tests which shows that there is some sort of psychological issue that lies beneath.

• What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? 

 The clips within the ink blots were to depict innocence and also perception. The style he used, which was the ink blots, were also uses for showing the doubling of characters and a psychological issue. He used this style to create a dreamy but also spine-chilling feeling.

• How has technology been used effectively? 

The title sequence consists of just two layers the live action images and the layer with  the animated ink blots. They made a lot of ink blots and scanned those and filmed close up clips and clips pf the two girls. For every shot they looked for just the right shape and size. They experimented with different fonts, but it turned out that a solid sans-serif worked best. They aimed for a more ‘decayed’ look. They wanted the typography to be static and readable, to focus the attention on the images.