Film Opening

Final Product

Here it will show the final product of the opening film. Like I said before thank you all for the support on the process. here is the link to the google drive with the public video on it. 

Film opening completed: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y9kGFxqrIXZnCbesmlfpCXrDfv6EFUVH/view?usp=share_link

Creative Critical Reflection

Hi There, We're finished!

Here are both of my CCRs I have had lots of fun completing this project and hope you guys can enjoy the film process as I did. thank you all for staying with me through the journey and watching as I progress in this project. 

Podcast CCR#1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OgbmPNbupKAuAC8rCE9QQXaz9t3hK91M/view?usp=share_link

Presentation CCR#2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ORl0rJ1pGtl63n3HExzLk1ofNDNz7oA1/view?usp=share_link

CCR Brainstorm

 So with my filming and editing finished my video is officially completed. Now i have not too many days left to complete my 2 CCR's. I have been brain storming what exactly i want to do for my CCR. Here I will show to ideas i have to be done while answering the questions. 

1st idea: Film my CCR in my house walking around showing where i filmed the scene as i answer the questions. Ill end up having my mom film me as i talk to the camera showing where my film was made. Also i will be doing no cuts just the camera walking around my house with me as i talk and show them where we filmed everything.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOQ-wZQhZZo&ab_channel=Vogue

2nd idea: Film the CCR in the car. I will get some index cards and say that they are questions from people and i'll end up reading the questions for the CCR and answering them. All in the car as a friend or mom drives or something around that. It wont be exactly like the example i show cause that it Karaoke and i wont be doing that. But it will be the same environment like in the car talking to the screen. 

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0PB4cbtDc&ab_channel=TheLateLateShowwithJamesCorden

3rd idea: I do a simple powerpoint with the questions and talk over it like ive seen before. I have no example fr this one but it's really the most simple idea i have and i probably won't be doing it unless i run out of time and i have to do one quick. 

Group Meeting (pt2)

 Group Meeting

Today as a class we did some group meetings. It was really like a checkup and a way to see and critique some of our classmates projects and blogs. There was one person that has finished in my group but everyone else is either finishing their filming or adding their final touches to editing and starting their CCR's. 

I think i'm at a good place right now if i can finish the editing the next couple days. For the  CCR's i think i have a good idea on what to do. I'll likely make a Youtube video on me talking about it all with every detail on how my process has gone. Someone in my group is doing an interview with their sibling in a car as they drive so it's like a talk show in the car. I might have to do that as well but i think the Youtube video is great. 

My classmates that were in my group seem all to have a correct idea on what to do and how to do it. I got some ideas from them also for my project and i will be using them. Like the music in the beginning with the credits. For my opening credits I filmed the houses on a bike with a POV shot and added the credits in them. But i can also just add a black screen and add them. Today I will finish editing and get to the CCR. By the end of the week i will have one CCR completed and the ides for another one. 

Editing Process

 Editing

After finishing the filming today I was editing. I have been editing how I wanted to in the beginning and adding slight music in certain scenes so it adds the suspense. I'm not completed with the editing of the project but I am close and I think it’s going well in the editing part. Again I'm not the best editor and as I am the only person in my group I’ll adapt. I've been watching videos for the past couple weeks to help with the editing but I’ll have it done.

 So far I have the credits and  the first couple shots for the opening scene edited and I will continue on tomorrow. Also, with my luck my premiere pro was not working. I do not know exactly why yet but I ended up editing it on an App called " VideoLeap"  where I can still do everything I wanted to do on adobe but on the phone. Here are some screenshots of me editing some on the shots I took yesterday.

Screenshot of me editing: 

Film

 We have completed filming: 

Today me and my friends finished filming. We have all the shots I needed and it did not take us too long to complete. After a hour I finished the process and had everything ready for editing. In this post I will just talk on my film process and show some pictures from the behind the scenes of my opening from some of the shots we did. 

So the process was fairly easy as I had my storyboard and everything planned out before hand. Tomorrow I will continue on with the editing process and make sure everything is ready for Monday. On Monday I will start the CCR and finish it mid week so I have the rest of the week to complete the other posts. 

Here are some pictures from todays filming process for the opening. these are just pictures from the shots I filmed. The editing process will be started tomorrow and hopefully completed by the end of the day. If edited correctly it should come out as I wanted it to originally. The only difference from the shots and my planning is that it was not dark outside and my TV cable was not working.

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Location and finishes

 

So tomorrow I will be finishing my filming and will have everyone over to complete it with me. 

So here is some pictures of the locations on where this will all be filmed and where everything is. We will be using the parts of the house shown as there really the only ones necessary for the filming process. So the living room and some shots outside will be took. Also it might not be dark outside when we film because of some lighting issues we had attempting to film it earlier this week so we will be filming later in the afternoon like around 5:30-6:00 PM.

Pictures of location: 

Stay in tune for the post tomorrow with all the filming process being shown and maybe even some shots from the opening to be shown. 

Custom Newspaper

Hi There, Juan Again

Ok so for a mise-en-scene element i decided to do a custom newspaper with the local news on what's all going on. Though its spring break right now i wanted to not make the time on the newspaper be the same as today so I changed it up a little and made it earl march. here is a picture of me editing the newspaper on google docs. 

So what i did is i got a template or a old newspaper and i edited it all out with information fitting my story on the opening scene. I have fake news like past killings and the description of the suspect all added on the news so it makes it look more realistic in a sense. I also added pictures of police scenes that happened recently in Miami. In the pictures you can even see the police men are dressed in Miami police gear so it again makes it look like these scenes are from the killings in the story, as the setting is in a home in Miami. Here is the finished product post printed and this is what will be used in the film.

So I will be doing a close up shot of the newspaper on the  counter on the kitchen as the scene goes on. Maybe I’ll even have one of the characters talk about the newspaper and show it to the others. 

Sound In Film

 Sound planning:

Ok so i will be doing the planning of the sound in both the editing aspect and the filming right now so i have it set up for filming. For sound i will be using music, foley sounds, and ambient sounds in the opening so it helps with the tension and suspense that is to be shown. So for the foley sounds i will be using different items to show different things. I know for a fact that when i get to the scene of the character outside making a phone call i will be using lots of silence to create suspense. The silence can be a powerful tool for creating tension in the viewer. 

According to a couple videos i watched "use silence before a sudden action", So thats what i will be doing. Before the antagonist attacks the teenager i will have no noise going on at all. The teenager will hang up the phone and begin texting someone on his phone. As he is texting  nothing will be heard except the noise which is made as you send messages on messages. There will be slight chatter being played in the background which will be coming from inside the house. But what i will do is kind of zoom it out and make it just be a slight noise that is being heard not anything too loud. 

For the music part of the sound i will be using it also to create the tension with the audience. As the tension builds in the scene i will be adding some music. The music will start off as low, background noise and it will gradually increase over the scene until the antagonist appears and kills the character. Hopefully the music creates a sense of danger and scares the viewer, adding on to the suspense I need to show in the opening.  The next post will be on the newspaper i create for the mise-en-scene throught the scene.

Hi there, Juan again  

I have it planned out. So this week the time changed, meaning it gets darker outside before usual times. But this also means that sports games get pushed up one hour. Usually it's never dark outside or night when a soccer game is because the great games are in Europe and its a 6 hour difference. So what i will be doing is planning to film this week during a soccer game that goes on later in the day. I have all my planning ready and my storyboard complete. One thing i do need to make is the newspaper mise-en-scene item i have been talking about.

This item will contain the date and a bunch of fake news and information that goes with my story i am portraying. I do believe that if i can do this correctly and complete it will everything i have planned being show i think it will be a great opening scene and it will be great to show on the blog. Throughout this blog you will see my journey and motions i'm taking into completing this opening scene and everything i will go through to have it done correctly. 

Also while i was doing my research i found a interesting youtube video on sound and how to properly use it to help create the scene. It focuses more on the music to use when creating suspense and less on the other aspects of the sound. Though i did like the video and i wanted to link it on my blog to show a video i watched when researching it. It also gives some good examples of films that use these aspects of sound and use it perfectly. Here is the link to the Youtube Video.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-dMimIr1pY&ab_channel=RickBeato

Storyboard And Information

Hi There, Juan Again

Storyboard:

Here is 2 pictures of my storyboard I created last night. No, I am not the most skilled artist but i tried to show you all my process on the story and how I think it should all come out as. The storyboard shows both the scene numbers and the types of shots and angles being used in each of the scenes to help show the image.

Extra Research

Jump scares are going to be a key element to use in my opening. I do believe I will be doing a couple of them in my opening. Maybe around 2 will be done including the one I do with one of my main characters as a joke. This week I did some research on how to effectively use jump scares to help create the shock effect and the suspense it brings. I watched a video on the art of the jump scares and it also showed examples with voiceovers of how certain films used jump scares in the past and how it changed their whole scene.

YouTube Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIQFnB7Rv5A&ab_channel=CineFix-IGNMoviesandT

Thinking more on the topic of jump scares I will definitely be trying some different types of ways that can help bring this suspense and scare I need into my film including lots of different sound. Like a dark beat to be playing in the background or foreshadowing showing the newspaper I wanted to make before everything bad happens in the opening. Maybe Ill be able to even still use some type of editing that can help it too though I do not know too much on that and how to change the whole mood of the film with it. My next post will be my storyboard and everything with it, but I'm gonna make sure when I film it is dark outside cause I don't want there to be any extra lighting around that changes the look of the opening and it all has the darker tone to it to help with the setting of the scene. So ill be doing my storyboard tomorrow and setting everything of that nature up. I might even make the newspaper as well as I should have enough time to do it. 

Character Outlines

Character Outline 

Character Outline for Emanuel:

Character outlines for my characters are a great way to show them and their moods and them as a person before thinking about the rest of the story. Later on I will show a board and outline for one of my characters I have planned out and hopefully I can reflect and look back to this when confused on how to continue on with the story of my character and how to set him up for the opening. This character will be one of the 3 male character in the opening. The opening again will be 3 people on a couch watching a soccer game. As time passes I will be cutting back and forth with the duo and the antagonist with is somewhere upstairs while they are in the living room. When one suddenly leaves to the washroom the antagonist of the film gets up and takes action. In this post here shows a short outline on one of the main character to the opening , Emanuel will be shown. The clothing of the character will be basic with a normal white tee and some khaki pants. He's going to be the funnier people out of the characters but also will be the scariest. The second he hears something go on he freaks out. So throughout the opening he will have a worried face but also making jokes. This will be the character that does a jump scare as a joke on his friends. 

 It's my birthday!

Well it did not go as expected, too much stuff went on today and I did not get to film. I didn't really think it through to be honest but I really should have. I was out all day for my birthday and didn't have time to even make the newspaper I wanted to make and script before filming. As I did not have these items obviously I wasn't completely ready to begin filming. I think that I should begin my filming process soon  and as it did not go as planned this week maybe next week I can complete this. 

I ended up filming basic shots but it was also my birthday so there was A LOT going on in the background. With both music and chatter in the back I clearly didn't think it through because I was confused when it got to that point. Though I did try to start it with no proper plan I think I definitely need more time to get everything together. Next week I will be doing the following things that will help set up my filming for the weekend. First I will be doing my storyboard because without that I do not think it's best to start off. Yes, I did have a storyboard made but I made it today right before I trying to film so I will be making major adjustments to it. Second, I will be creating the mise-en-scene element I wanted to make which was a newspaper about the plot of the story. Also, I will continue on with my research with both sound and angles so when I do begin to film the opening I have a complete understanding of everything I sill be completing. 

Though it is sad that it didn't go as planned I do think this can be a positive as I was likely not ready to begin the filming process yet. Hopefully we can have everything ready and get started for next week. See you all soon with more progress on my journey to create an opening film scene. 

To Be Continued...

                     Hi there, Juan Again

 Product and editing ideas for opening scene: 

So I was thinking with a couple of friends today about ideas on how to make the opening stand out in the film. So we came up with what I believe is a good idea on the opening shots. As in the opening the group of kids will be watching a UFC fight I was thinking about cutting from a move the fighter does to the killer doing the same move on the victim. So, like I said before there will be a group of friends, teenagers, that are watching a UFC fight. throughout the fight goes on the scene will be cutting back and court on the group and the killer upstairs. The killer is never actually seen but I will be using POV shots and the handle camera motion to show his presence in the house. When one of the characters go upstairs he encounters the killer and he ends up killing him. What I wanted to do was maybe show one of the fighters in a choke hold and then fade into a transition of the killer holding a choke hold on the victim to show the presence of it and try and be creative with a idea.

Also, I wanted there to be a weird kind of scary conversation that goes on between the group  of teens. This is because I wanted there to be a jump scare between 2 of the people just messing around with each other. This again is to create some type of suspense between them and the room. It shows the suspenseful outcome and ideas that can be happening. Maybe I can even do It as they are talking about the recent killings in the film. As I wanted to use my Mise-en-scene product of a newspaper or some type of paper that shows that the news has been keeping up with killings in the neighborhood. So as the group talks about the killings one of the kids jump scares another one. When this takes place I will add some sound element that also adds suspense and scare to the viewer. So after this jump scare one of the characters go upstairs leading to his death. I think I can work this out and tomorrow can show this in plan.

Week 4, Post 1 ( Planning )

It's Week four!

Filming Plan:

This week should be the week that I begin filming. I have my whole planning and research in order and together so it should be fine to begin this weekend. March 4th is my birthday and one of my favorite fighter Jon Jones if fighting on Saturday, my birthday. Since I will be having people over at my house I think it is the best time to be filming as friends will be over. I have asked my friends if they were comfortable with me filming them and they said its fine. So I will be continuing my plan to film during that day. If worked efficiently I think we should be able to finish the project and next week begin the editing. Though I will obviously be celebrating my birthday I think its the best place and time to begin filming parts of the film I need. I definitely wanted to take advantage of this and at least film some type of content that day.

for the costumes I guess it would have to be whatever is the clothing my friends bring. Since it is a model film and there is nothing too serious about the clothing aspect I do think it will be fine to let them wear whatever they wear and for with that for the costumes in mise-en-scene. I did want to do something in the background and a close up of it on the opening. Maybe like a newspaper or a article that is shown throughout the opening of killings in the neighborhood or something that signifies there has been killings in the area recently.  Also I will be adding boxing gloves on the couch, popcorn, and food around so it makes it seem more real and important.

Sound Research

                  Hi There, It's Juan 

Sounds Role in Films

Sound is real important especially in all types of films especially under the horror genre. In order to encourage deeper psychological connection and increase the fear of the horror film, it purposely affects the viewer's psychological view. In modern horror films, sound often takes the place of the screen and, in some cases, even take priority over it. Sound raises the viewers encouragement to watch the film and it increases the scare factor to the movie. Sound is used in multiple different ways through movies including music, dialogue, sound effects, ambient noise, background noise and soundtracks. The three primary categories of film sound are music, sound effects, and dialogue. For the viewer these three sorts of sound are important.

Video of Foley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BQvCCB-PiA&ab_channel=Insider

In these YouTube video they show how sound is used in horror films and how when it is used it creates suspense and scare in the audience. I came across these YouTube videos while i was doing my research under the sound for horror films. It is two  really great videos and in my opinion I do believe they both can actually show efficiently how to use sound to better a film and how it is used in films today.

YouTube Video on the sounds of horror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nthl4yD2ubY&ab_channel=GammaRay

Throughout my film I will be using lots of Foley sounds and music. I believe the music in the background of a scene or something important helps much with suspense and helps bring together the scare for the viewer. At the moment i do not know what song it will be but it will most likely be some type of beat that has no type of talking but more a serious tone. As I progress on the blog you will se my journey on this topic and the whole project together, thanks for reading.

Group Meeting

                   Group Meeting Chat

Today in class we did what my teacher called a group meeting. This is when she makes a group of 5 and we al take out our blogs showing it to each member of the group. For this group meeting my group consists of 5 people including me all classmates of mine. 

My group gave me a couple of ideas including making the fighting low, using lots of close ups shots and maybe even over the shoulder shots. I was told by my group to use these three ideas for my opening to help create suspense and thriller into the film, which is helpful. I told them how I don't want to show the face of the antagonist or show him at all throughout the opening film. So they came up with ways to show the presence of the antagonists but now show him fully. I personally liked the group meeting as I shared my thought with everyone and they critiqued me with my ideas as well. Also, we looked at each others blogs and I got to see different types of blogs and ways people show their information in their blogs.

Group Picture: 

While looking at everyone's post I saw lots of creative ways and ideas that they portrayed their items and information. Furthermore, hearing everyone's thoughts and plots shows the variety of things you can do for this opening scene. All the different genres and scenes showed are helpful to see the differences in people thoughts and ideas. Someone in my group called Abraham was even doing a horror film opening but it had some type of supernatural aspect to it. He said that the killer ends up killing a person in the beginning of the opening and then at the end it shows that the killer was actually the victim that died. I was confused so I asked him more about It and he helped tell the group that he was looking for some type of supernatural idea in his opening. In the group we even had someone say their film was going to be on a mental health problem where the main character is the antagonist and she kills people in her dreams. This was such a creative way to show the horror into a opening scene. She also said that the people she kills in her dreams end up dying in real life and so it brings so much confusion and thriller into the opening that it seems like a great opening scene. I always liked the whole group meeting idea cause sharing your thoughts and ideas to other people especially people in your class that you know seems like a great way to improve and make key changes into the film's opening.

Technical Elements Research

                  Hi, It's Juan Again 

Technical elements are key parts to horror films throughout this post I will be showing my conclusions after my research on this topic. Shots and angles are key elements to this genre as the goal is the have the audience scared and create suspense throughout the film. A couple shots and angles can do exactly this and help with the goal on the film opening and fit in with the genre which here is horror.

 

Dutch Angle: The dutch angle, which may also be called the canted angle, is a technique often used in horror films to create confusions and panic to the film. Often this show is used as a long shot or a medium shot as it can not be too close to the character so it shows his surroundings and movements. The rotating background will be shown with the character this will create lots of confusion into the viewer and bring suspense into the film. 

Youtube Video on dutch angle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHYfsYQDr6M

 

Long Tracking Shots: In horror and suspense films, long tracking shots are an excellent way to give the audience the impression that the character is being followed or watched. The attacker's view could be from which the shot was taken. This type of shot can also be all about the surroundings, so it can be used to build a scary vibe. These extended takes are tiring as  they are so full of suspense and tension. These takes will not be too long in order to stop boring the viewers to the point where they stop watching.

Close Ups: Close ups are a key factor into bring suspense to the viewers. Showing the close features of items or a person helps create the scare into the audience by zooming in on the facial expressions of the character at hand. Also, by holding on the close up, jump scares are also used to create terror for a moment  In the audience. Even though this shot's not as wide as a establishing shot, there is large ways to be versatile with this shot. I will definitely be using lots of close ups in my opening scene and will do this because it will help improve and bring the idea of the whole opening together.

Youtube Video on Close Ups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbO3BOsFacc

   I will be using all of these different types of shots and angles throughout my opening film this is research I was and have been doing on specific shots used lots of times in horror films. Throughout the post I show pictures and even the YouTube videos I had watched while completing my research on this topic. This research was done through the past couple days I believe I started doing this on Tuesday, its now Thursday. Hopefully you all enjoyed these posts and i'll see you in the next one. 

Project Schedule

                 Hi There, It's Juan 

So today in class I was reminded by my teacher to add a schedule to the blog. The schedule would show my days planned for every week. Though one week will be research and planning and others will be filming it is best to keep everything together and organized and follow a schedule to be precise with time.

Week 1: This week was all about planning and research. 

Week 2: By the second week I should have a overall idea of how I want the plot and the opening to go.

Week 3: By week 3 I will have the shooting schedule ready at the end of this week. Also, I will be completing a storyboard to show my ideas in the shots and angles I want throughout the film opening. As I want to bring lots of suspense into the opening I will be using lots of close ups and high angle. Also, in the week I will be developing the script and creating a shot list to use when filming.

Week 4: On the fourth week I will continue on with the research and planning for the project. Later throughout the week I will begin filming and creating some mise-en-scene elements. I wanted to add some mise-en-scene that I made into the opening. I was thinking about making my own newspaper and it showing the killings that have been happening in the story or some type of events in the story that have been going on.

Week 5: This week is a important week. By this week I should have finished my production maybe in the middle of the week and started editing at least on the weekend. If all goes to plan I should be editing my film opening by Friday and adding transitions, effects and more to the opening. Again, sound elements are really important for a horror film so throughout the week I will research more of sound and how to effectively use it in editing to scare the audience. 

Week 6: On this week will be ding research and watching samples of the creative critical reflections others have done. Also, if all goes right I shall have my editing to the opening completed and everything will be finished with the opening scene.

Week 7: On week 7 I will continue on with the research and post that process on my blog, and then hopefully by the end of the week being my creative critical reflection. 

Week 8: Finally,  I will create final, overall project reflection and also post my project all together including both the CCR and the Opening to the film.