...and we're done

I want to thank the Cambridge program, especially anyone watching, and my teacher Mrs. Stoklosa for giving us this opportunity to spend countless hours of research in class, which aided us in producing a wonderful product of a film introduction. That in of itself was worth the experience. Enjoy!
YouTube link:https://youtu.be/8CN2H8b4AYI
Google drive:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KXGDyhVCRGmdR4l-P8eisbsgM5ySOvhs

CCR

Youtube:https://youtu.be/u94mWap3qyM

Google drive:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FDvUwkkMUc2Uump_5SbbWOwNBVEfft8r

Key changes and moments

This project has by far had many changes, and for better or worse, the project is where it's at, and it was the best product that I could put out with my resources, efforts, and gestures from team members. I will try to discuss the changes as extensively as I can, as well as providing them chronologically. One of the premiering changes to occur were those towards the storyboard, as plot production was one of the first things in my mind. Many of the shots such as finding the body parts were going to be too costly, or the unfocused high angle shot just didn’t fit the presentation as it didn’t aid us in providing clear leeway from introducing the killer too introducing the kidnapped person. The two shots don’t juxtapose each other as well as the medium shots we took in the film, with the three knocks. Another change, but not as significant, was the changes to the audio. We expected “Run Rabbit Run” to be useable to our production, but the company was not understanding of our situation. But it did help us aid in finding another even better song, which fit the mood of the project quite well. As well with everyone’s busy schedules, our filming dates had to be radically changed, however, this was mostly due to sheer laziness of other members. Next, another large change that occurred was the ending to the intro, we wanted to end the film with just the murder of the person and a roll to credits, however, our teacher told us this wouldn’t seem fitting for a movie introduction, but more of a mid-movie scene. By bringing in the bulletin board showing all the serial killers plans, it provides our movie leverage to show there is more to this scene, that being his attempted murders towards the other people on the board and probably some adjusted background story and climatic ending. Another thing that changed after this was out filmer and actor, at this point I had asked people if they could come in and hold the camera and asked others to come and act. After a bit, some told me they had gone on vacation and others just didn’t want to come act. It’s understandable, it’s not their job. So at the time of filming, I had to find two random school friends of mine and just decided that I would be filming. At this point in the project, I had an argument with my partners at his point, for them not providing enough to the project, but instead of motivating them, it just pushed me to do more work. Antonio edited maybe like 15 seconds but I had to scrap it because it was poorly edited and incoherent. The only thing Antonio did was I would say pay $5 for props and be co-director for about an hour the first day of filming, the rest of the entirety of the project was done by me and Nico was there. Another large change to the project was our decision to film it in the dark, as it provided us with práctica scary shots and added suspense. It also aided as some of the acting was pretty bad, but was masked by the darkness. However, we prevailed and moved on from this. During filming, many of the shots change that were not written in the storyboard, as they came to us on spot. Some of those being the bulletin board scene, the POV murder, and the chase of finding the keys (medium tracking shot). Likewise, many key moments do coexist the key changes, as you can tell by the writting, some changes did lead to major moments within the project. One of the largest being the group fight. Me being enraged at my partners' lack of work forced me to go out to do all the work which was missed by that of my group mates, including simple tasks, such as prop production and mis en scene. Similarly, the fight allowed me to find actors in a desperate fashion and adjust to a manner to where I now had to change my mindest on not having to carry the load of others. However, it was still a great motivation boost. Me and Antonio were able to film and do more practice shots a day to two days after the fight, which was pretty efficient. Speaking of props, if it weren't for me going out to buy them, filming wouldn't have happened for at least another week. But since we already had all the necessary equipment to fulfill the projects needs, we were all set. Another key moment in the film production was me watching Get out by Jordan Peele. That day would be around the first week of February. I had seen the film many times, but this time I had viewed it with my friends. We spent around two hours discussing plot points and easter eggs. The horror genre was on my mind, so when I had come to class and we discussed the main storyline to our introduction, the opening scene of Lakeith Stanfield had opened my mind. I wanted to emulate some of those elements, such as a serial murderer and the audio techniques used in the opening. Group meeting with our teacher and other classmates also helped out a bunch. Our teacher was the one who would tell us when some of the things we were trying to create were unrealistic or made the introduction, something other than it should be. Which helped us develop the whole bulletin board act. Research also helped develop ideas and plot as well. Movies such as get out, scream, US, and even shows like American Horror Story really helped me come up with the plot. Likewise, the research done on the importance of sound, lighting, and normal genre conventions truly helped during the filming and editing process. This included helping find out the right sound effects to use, scores, lighting during filming, and conventions of quick cuts. Lastly, one of the more important moments was our actors having to leave for vacation. If we weren't already in a rush to leave, they had told me all of a sudden that they had to leave for a wrestling tournament, only the one being killed. This allowed us to film more seriously and stop fooling around, and get the filming process done in a more timely manner. As well, in editing, we were rushed as if we needed to find some manner to re-shoot it would have to be the day after.

Re-shooting and final edits

Today reshooting occurred, and we basically got one of the largest discontinuities fixed, from having no blood onto the mask to having it, I will provide a side by side comparison of this.

You see, the largest difference between these two photos is that the killer actually has blood on his face while he eerily stares at the camera and looks towards the bulletin board, which aids the continuity factor. Here I will just provide video evidence of what I mean, which can be compared from the video shown in the previous blog, with no blood.

I also integrated sounds of the murder which I completely forgot which I will link in a few moments
Bone and flesh ripping (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuM9Tkyf778)
Knife stab (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCCFsqyyano)

Lastly, I do believe some of the finagling touches have been made, but that decision is also up to Antonio and Nick, so here is just a video of me showing all the layering we used in the audio, and the hundreds of video files.

Editing day 2

So to elaborate on yesterdays work, I just wanted to get at least 75 percent of the editing done, I would still need to implementing the stabbing sound effect, and I found an editing error that would cause a discontinuation, of when the killer looks towards the camera and has no blood on his mask, but as he moves towards the camera and the bulletin board with the mask on the side, there is blood upon it. So all in all we need to refilm that shot, and I edited a good portion. Antonio edited a snippet and fixed the bulletin board scene up.

So that alluded us to this point in time after a good time spent editing compared to what we have seen before. The killing is much more quick paced and coherent and the issue of wailing to the bulletin board is fixed, and pardon for the blank cuts in there, but I'm just leaving gap room for reshooting areas, as well as to not mess with the audio.

During the entirety of our editing process, I was the sole editor.

Editing

For the most part, filming is over, and we look forward now too editing. If we see that any shot doesn't fit with our current schematic, most likely we will film on Monday or Sunday, and possibly a blog on another reshooting day will go up on either of those days. So todays editing was mainly to focus on brining the whole project together, through just the diegetic and nondiegetic sounds, and the videos we shot, as well as any other type of sound effect necessary, will it be as coherent as we want it to be right now, not really. Coherency and main editing will mostly go down tomorrow.

Sounds used: Stabbing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSyU1PzVptc)
Song played during killing (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjNluGF06zhAhUHnFkKHQcTDacQwqsBMAB6BAgIEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUnUKLu0d62w&usg=AOvVaw0-bb8Wied6JUsHPK7bgwaV)
Jump scare (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQ8Oh_aBiA&t=37s)
eerie build up music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBcMB3g0HI)
Mozart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-TrAvp_xs)
Dogs barking (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByQIGmlzRCI)
Record scratch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qle5J85-RI)
All such audio used in this project was and too my knowledge from the information provided, non copyright

Upon editing, I just decided to further myself and just go to bed very late editing all night, so here is just some progress of me editing, showing just the main process and steps it takes to edit.

Now up to this point, I have created at least a somewhat coherent film, but it will look sharply better and proficient tomorrow once more serious editing is put in place, so here is a rough video of the film opening.

As you can see there are some clear places that need to edited such as the scence where the killer is introduced, after the killing, and the last shot of the bulletin board. As well, not even all the audio has been implemented at this point. That's tomorrow's issue.
During the entirety of our editing process, I was the sole editor.

second day of re shooting mistakes

Today was mainly dedicated to getting any shot that we weren't able to fit in due to the actors' restraints with outside activities, along with us fixing any shot to which we deemed not well looking for the final product.

This shot was a seamless improvement to the last shot shown in the last blog as the spotlighting just looks tighter and the person being killed turns their flashlight towards the camera at a much faster rate, because the previous shot looked vaguely lethargic, while this one shows more raw emotion.

These shots exemplify the struggles we were and are having. We are struggling with timing, so we don't know at this point if taking the extra seconds to turn on a flashlight is worth it. So the two shots shown are very similar, and just show the different directions we were heading towards when filming this opening shot.

This shot is an improvement from the one shown yesterday. It exemplifies a stronger and cleaner over the shoulder shot, and moves at a much faster pace, as we told the kidnapped actor to act in a more aggressive and fearful manner.
During these re-filming days it was just Antonio and I, providing the same roles as we did yesterday, no Nico.

First day of filming

Today marked the first day of filming, our goal was to film the entire movie and leave tomorrow for re-filming the shots which looked odd, or places which we could've gotten other angles/shots. However, we were a little bit limited today as the person being killed had to leave for wrestling practice around 4 hours into our filming without my knowledge. However, we prevailed as he left just as we had all the shots of him in, and the rest of the shots just showed the killer.
This was seen through a POV shot, as the person being killed had left at this point, and we needed to film him actually being murdered, but obviously without him being there, I had to take the role of holding the camera to my chest and allowing to the killer to gash at the floor with the knife near inches from my head.

The following shots that will be shown, are just some raw footage examples of some of the key shots that we took and that will most likely be edited or reshot for further purposes.

This is just the long shot where the kidnapped person seems to follow the speaker, using the spotlighting lighting technique and is met with their demise through the serial killer appearing behind them, which will be added in through a cut.

This over the shoulder shot does nothing but reinforce how the kidnapped person is trapped and being monitored by the eerie feeling you get in a desolate dark garage, while he is being peered upon from the back.

This is one of the last images shown before the movie introduction ends. Obviously, this shot will need to be redone and is not even in full, as the entirety of another shot similar to this one just couldn't be sent through email. However, this shot aims to show how the bulletin board proves to be vital to the opening credits along with advancing the plot of the entirety of the film. However it is very important to point out that only Antonio and I were there during filming, with Antonio acted as codirector and I filmed and produced art direction, with all the mis en scence (knives, mask, and bulletin board), as well as costumes including the dark hoodie of our killer.

Prop Production

The entirety of the blog will just be devoted to show prop material used for production, and the process, and final product. Here I show all the materials that were physically purchased for the project such as the killer for the mask in a sad figurine. Next to it is thin red tape, thumbtacks, and a bulletin board as they would be eventually used in the process of creating a "detective crazy wall" as they are called. This would emulate the killer plan for mapping out those he needs to kill and their specific locations, while at the same time providing leeway into this being a film opening, by showing their is more to this movie rather than one killing scence, their are a whole bunch of people the killer is seeking out, and this board provides that.

Next in the process, I had to look up old urban sprawls of maps from various cities in America, which is why the purple shows up so often, as it represents the large urban areas of these vast cities. However, it was the only result I could measure too, as it is quite difficult to find one city and paste it into this specific shape of a made up city. Hence I cut out all the maps and used glue to post all the cities together in one conglomerate.

Next I just found pictures off my friends Instagram's and printed them with their approval to be the theoretical future victims. They would just provide leeway into filling up the map. Likewise, the kid getting killed in the movie is up on the map and will see his image being scratched out as he dies, to show once again that this scene isn't just a killing, but an entire film.

Next, I just thumbtacks and glue to paste my friends pictures upon the board. Through this, I also pin pointed a center location in the map of the killers house. From that key center point, it extends to the other future victim's houses as the board is just a set up for the sprawl of locations to which he must travel.

Final touches were made to the board, with the addition of sticky notes. They were added in first intent to make the board look more casual. However I came up with a very good idea to just use the board to add easter eggs. From this, I also decided this would be great to add the tittles of the film and the opening credits. For example, the first note is just the title of the film. The second is an easter egg saying to take out the trash, or a metaphor for murder. The last one says Matthew 25:30, which is just a bible verse about death, which many films these days are using different varieties of bible verses to add that extra level of religion into the scary factor. The entirety of the sticky notes on the right are just credits which will be used in just a continuous role to provide the credits. However this was later changed as we needed to put final touches on credits. Lastly, I do want to reiterate how I was the sole person to create and purchase these props, not a single other soul.

Distribution

As for distribution, when it comes to locally produced projects you are limited, but at the same time given a variety of options on what to do. For example, film festivals will obviously play a big role. The Florida Film festival, for example, takes place on April 12-21. However if we wouldn't be able to get all editing and filming done in time; we could easily make the 2020 Florida Film festival around the same time next year. Another large and well-known festival which we could submit an application for would be the 2020 Sundance film festival in Utah, which is usually hosted around late January. The movie would also be posted up on Youtube and Vimeo and be able to watch upon purchase of a relatively low price. But to bring in traffic and viewers to the movie and even our site we would purchase Google ads and pay to become higher ranked for certain searched phrases such as "new horror film" or "murder film". As well, we could purchase a couple of advertisements on IMDB and even offer free viewings of the movie online if the people were to leave a good review on IMDB. This would retract the free tickets as IMDB is built off of traffic and popularity. If our film is being left nothing but decent reviews and popularity, It will also promote itself upon IMDB and more people will be interested in viewing the film. Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have also become extremely popular for up and coming directors. These websites allow people to fund a movie early while they also get viewership and interjection into the film. This is good for one reason, once the person makes a donation; you have solidified them as someone who will view your project and is more likely to share the viewership with their friends and family. If they see the movie as well off the advertising they will do themselves is great as they feel like they had some importance in the creation of the project.

Social group and issue

The only social groups/issues really being discussed here are mental disorders and how the socio-economic status of America has given middle-class American's too much safety. The mental disorder factor, however, will not really play such a large factor into the film, it's much rather an additive detail. The issue of socioeconomic status is huge. The film takes place in a small sized suburban neighborhood. Most people that live here are well off for themselves. But that doesn't mean you should keep your guard down. Many middle-class Americans move to suburbs for safety and leave their doors open as they fear nothing could ever go wrong. However, this is not true. No matter where you live, you should always keep yourself safe, and be aware of your surroundings. Just because you live in a good looking neighborhood does not mean you are susceptible to crime, murderers, and absolute sociopaths. Many Americans refuse to believe this, as they believe danger can only come from the inner city.

Audience interactions

For any film to be successful, you must think about how it can interact with audiences in the most interesting and unique way possible. One of those being a good idea could be to obviously use the jumpscare in film and take advantage of those new 4d seatings offered in some theaters, but neither of those things can truly drive in a vast number of viewers nor is it really an interaction with the audience. Of course, you must do the standard, website, youtube ads, trailers, movie posters in theaters, and social media platforms. However, to be successful you must go above and beyond. For example, During one of the earlier seasons of the game, Fortnite started dropping large figurines of items in the game, such as a large burger and a llama all across Europe. Although being super blatant, the message got across, play the game. It was a form of cheap marketing but it broke the internet, and millions of people took pictures and they saw a large spike in the number of players.

A similar mechanic could be done by our team. Here in Florida, we could drive down to Miami and place down large ominous blank white mask's which people have the opportunity to take pictures with. This a cheap way to advertise, that is also effective. Speaking of Miami, this would be a great chance to just get a close friend who is an artist to begin doing street art or even at the Wynwood walls of an image of the killer's mask. 

It contrasts to what is actually on the parts but can play a big role in acting ominous and getting attention. It could also be a pretty good idea to go stand in front of a busy street in Miami with the main killer with his mask on and a fake knife. This creates fear in those around them, but it also brings attention and remembrance to the mask, which plays a pivotal amount of symbolism to the actual movie. The reactions recorded could be posted up on youtube just as an extra promotion. The killer could also take pictures with ongoing walkers, as many characters who dress up upon the street usually do.

Horror conventions

The conventions generally associated with the horror genre are uniquely odd. This is due to one main reason, the horror genre is always evolving. Some of the older films generally associated with the beginning of the horror genre like Nosferatu and those expressed by Georges Méliès, used more stop motion and silence. They also focused more on demonic figures and monsters. This continued on for a while, and even witch films and monsters like Frankenstein started to develop as mainstream. Slasher films eventually caught up in the late '50s with the peak being Psycho in 1960. More and more slashers continued into the '60s. Then in 1973, the highly popular film, the exorcist took the horror genre and turned it demonic. A year after, the horror genre became huge, producing major titles like Jaws, Texas chainsaw massacre, Halloween, and Carrie. Each in their own subcategory of the horror genre. In 1991, Silence of the lambs came out. This film blew up the horror genre and is one of the more recognizable films about a mental issue. The rest of the filler years were filled with demonic like The ring, and slashers like Scream. American psycho even came out, focusing on one man's narcism. But the mid-2000s and even up to now have broken the recent horror genre. The majority of movies coming out a range in the issue they are trying to bring up. Yes, we are filled with demonic figures like those seen the conjuring, and slashers like It; but the ones truly making a splash have a deeper meaning. 2014's Babadook brought about issues on the mental state and sleep deprivation along with demonic figures. Likewise, Split chose to tackle the disorder of D.I.D and the effect it had on his community. However, Jordan Peele seeks to destroy modern horror genre conventions with his social commenary. His film's such as US and Get out, have been raved about by thousands of critics by being great horror films while at the same time having messages on race and poverty, while also problems with our internal state of mind. My film falls into these conventions in the sense that my character is a sociopath. Many sociopaths are characterized by being seemingly normal and arrogant, and almost charming. Like in the movie American Psycho, I choose to follow in that manner. The killer is this overzealous fancy man who listens to classical and old-time music, but somehow has this hunch on his back to kill others. However, I do follow the genre by filling in the role of having a slasher, as it is one of those horror films. I don't meet current conventions as I'm not trying to have much social commentary, it's more a straight-up killer film. I do follow conventions by the attempts I am trying to make with the lighting schemes, as described in my research on horror lighting. I'm going to try to integrate at least a couple in there, as well as using lowkey lighting.  Another convention im using is old time music. As described in my blog posting linked. The use of old music has been rampant in really well made films like Get out and The shining. As well, they fit perfectly with the ambiance of a sociopath. My begining in general could also be seen as extreme. Many horror films like to keep killing saved for at least the first 15 minutes of the film. Yet again, many opening scenes of horror movies have begun with a killing such as Halloween and Scream.

More bad news

The person who I recruited to begin filming I just realized is really unreliable. They barely are ever responding to text and have a very busy workload with sports and homework. Hence, I just told them that it would probably be best if I just filmed with my phone and we moved along. However, I did try to get another camera person who is in the TV production class, but they told me that they can't borrow out the cameras for things unrelated to tv production. So the best and safest bet for getting the shots done in a timely matter is to just film by myself.

Research on lightniong

Through my research on the horror genre, I was able to realize just how important lighting really is. Lighting provides different viewings of a near same image but distorts it in a way in which the audience becomes uncomfortable. So to summarize my findings, I will explain some key techniques, show examples of them, and explain how they could be utilized in the film opening.

Uplighting: Uplighting is the technique where distortion is masterful. Familiar viewings are hindered, and human structure and imperfection are established. This is usually done from any type of light that is strong enough, under the actual character. This can be achieved with fire, a lamp, or in most classic films, a flashlight. The reason it is so scary is that this type of view on someone is unnatural and overly saturated. This could possibly be used in the opening to which if we film in a dark room, the killer or even the kidnapped person could be introduced under uplighting, or when we get the quick glance at the killer.

Backlighting: It basically is exactly what it sounds like. It basically uses what is called eclipsing. However, this effect is mainly used to add dread to a figure in the distance or add the effect to a character walking into frame. The characters essentially eclipses the light which is behind them, which creates a masking dark effect around them. This could be used into the incorporation of when the kidnapped person is walking towards the cabinet to search for keys, as it would add great omniusnes to a relatively quiet scene.

Spotlighting: This technique is another clear giveaway from its name. The shot aims to add most of the general attention of the audience to one specific area of focus. This is usually done or mastered through a POV shot with the use of a strong spotlight or even a flashlight. This shot is even used in most horror films where the people go to explore a dark room and are caught with surprise to look around. It is even worse for viewers, as they are left in awe, even though they know exactly what they are looking at. It's unexpected, yet so personal. This could be used when we are first introduced to the kidnapped if they were to use an actual flashlight.

Saturated red: This type of lighting puts a saturated red cell over the filming device. This is used in many horror films today to add to the environment and make it more dangerous. This is done so, as the color red is usually associated with death and blood. Scenes can even make use of this when they contrast it next to a color that is supersaturated to add to the already weird looking cell. I do not believe that this type of lighting could fit my ideals, however, in the future, it could be vital in establishing ambiance.

Elongated shadow: The elongated shadow is a technique that has been used more in classic horror films, as many of the shots of murder are represented with CGI or with quick jump cuts. However, since I do not own that type of technology or budget it could be a possibility to use the shadow to show off the killer. However, a jump cut of the killing may play off better. The elongated shadow adds a sense of danger. The character not being shown is introduced as more menacing. This is used from a strong light source, which will give a large high contrast shadow. It is even furthered if there is more light in the room, as seeing a shadow randomly appear adds a sense of invasion.

We've got something

Today and yesterday I was able to go through and edit a little bit of the raw footage and sound. So provided is just a short clip of the product of an hour of editing, as well, I provided the video of the edit in full screen. I didn't want to provide a full video of my editing as we don't have all the finished material nor most of the shots, so it is near worthless as this time to provide full length videos of me editing. But in the video shown you can see the material and techniques used to edit.

Provided below is just the actual edited footage of the first few seconds of the opening. I do not expect most of this too be final, but it is just cool to see some practice shots and techniques being practiced and put to use for when we actually find the perfect footage.

Just the first few

I was looking through the roughly ten shots that I took and I realized that maybe the shot that was posted in the last blog wasn't so good. The upwards pan seems unnecessary, hence the one which I will choose to add to the editing will be one that is still, and will fit to the music and introduction to the house in a more fashionable manner.

The video on top is the one I originally wanted to use. However the one on the bottom is just better as it is still, because the pan is so useless. Do not forget this is just raw footage and subject to editing and change.

Rolling into big things

Today I can officially say at least some filming and direct sounds for the project have been found, so ultimately, today is a day to rejoice and hope for more productive days to come. I began researching on YouTube for some diegetic sounds we could use for the opening. This lead me down the hole of finding perfect audio for a record scratching, the perfect Mozart song, and I felt like adding some dogs barking to represent the outside environment and eeriness tot he area would do nothing but greatness for the project.

This record crackling adds to the effect that the killer is an old and demented person, who somehow pertains to this lavish and etiquette lifestyle by owning this old school vinyl player of a Mozart song.

This is followed by Mozart's Lacrimosa. This is a song that would generally be played inside somewhere heavenly, mostly a church in most Latin areas. This is a complete contrast to the actual events of murder forthcoming, but still add to the scary effect which we so desperately want. Likewise, the song also adds to the presence of introducing the character and his house in a godly manner, as if he had the ability to choose life or death.

Finally, I found these sound effects of the dog's barking. This outdoor sound effect truly is an auditory masterpiece. It sounds completely like some dogs barking in the far distance. We don't want them in frame, as it would just ruin the scence and the continuation of the killer owning a dog. By choosing this sound, you can tell you are in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, and something is about to go down.

I also was able to take this video last night, along with many others of nearly the same image, as I see it could be the great addition which we need to make this movie intro visually nice (it is just raw footage for now), to introduce the house. Expect, some editing and film revision to the actual first few seconds of the actual movie.

Group meeting 2

Today was the second time we have met with other groups to discuss our current work progress. I learned and was just reiterated on a couple of things. I was first told to work on lighting, as a main factor in making the scene more eerie for the viewers would be to keep the lighting dark and lowkey to add to the serial ambiance. I couldn't agree more, so expect a blog on lighting in the horror genre very soon. T his has been said many times before, but many of the other group members did tell us focus more on diegetic and nondiegetic sound rather than dialogue to develop the mood.
I was also pleasantly surprised to hear that the other group members saw our refined plot as really solid. A shot that was also said to be well was  the planned juxtaposition from the production logo into opening house shot, of the graphic match. This would obviously mean we would have to film at night or in a dark room, to be able to match the effect of the dark background of the logo. The other groups also really liked the shot we are planning to end the film opening with, of the map of the city showing different locations of other killings past and present, and the killer crossing out the person he just killed and putting a knife through the person he seemingly will kill next. I also told the group on how I'm planning to get one of my filming friends to help us out, and they sought that as a really good idea and reminded me how we should be the one guiding the shots, obviously. In regards to music, I was told that the edition of a classical music artist such as Beethoven or Mozart will play really well into the opening as many serial killers are portrayed in films as these maniac men who are fanciful and meticulous with there work. I was also given another idea of possibly going out to find actors if we felt that the emotions wouldn't be portrayed well by us, which seems like the route we are going to have to take, due to the lack of dialogue, emotion is crucial. The last things I picked up from this meeting was that, we're not as behind as we think we are, and that we should start picking up some raw footage very soon.

Production logo

Today I attempted to create a production logo on this site called designvo. I created this logo, and chose the colors all for a meticulous reason. The logo of the house represents isolation and loneliness, which act as themes for possibly a lot of horror film. Likewise, the nature of a single house compared to its solid background create the effect of eeriness and solidarity. The colors as well play a role in adding to the effect. The light black and gold colors just look to perfect, which is the exact effect I'm trying to create. You'd have no clue what you are seeing, but you know you are in for a scare. As well, the house in the logo juxtaposes the actual opening shot of the killer's house, which plays along with a graphic match. The graphic match is simply an editing effect where there is a cut between two scenes, yet the action on the two screens seem to act out or look in similar fashion. We did have to logo designs to begin with, but ultimately, we chose the one on the left.

Intro planning refinement and ending

After meeting with my teacher, some holes in the story were covered and refined to the point where i feel like we have a coherent story to give to the Aice program, for the film introduction. Like the introduction to the film opening. The clearest  way to present scene, would be throw a quick pan of the house from the outside, to then show a close up of the murderer cutting vegetables, to present the story as one of not horror yet. We also found out Beethoven isn't copyright as copy right laws can die off 70 years after an artist dies, which he is much far past this. Likewise, it is advisable to end this scene off in a manner in which there is a clear and present story coming from it, which can be continued upon. This was decided upon by us as a great and understandable idea from the teacher. Also exclaiming how showing an actual murder or with just effects could still not go well with the audience nor do we have much safety precautions or training to have such a scene. So the easiest way to show this would be a quick pan to the right as the jump scare occurs to not show the murder, and also can bring more continuation to the story if we provide a sort of board which shows an image of the town with push pins and strings coming out of them. This could also be furthered with images of those hes killed and waiting to kill, as the  murder crosses of the person hes just murdered; all such occurs as the credits roll pass.

Importance of sound

Today I will be talking about the scene right before the actual physical murder and the murder itself, however focusing more on sound. In a previous posting I said I would talking about stepping on an object as seen in Terminator 2, but wholeheartedly that was Nico's idea, and I absolutely refuse to add the video based on how unnecessary and idiotic  it looks. All you need to know is how I will be discussing how important the sound is right before an actual murder/ jump scare.

Here, in the film Exorcist 3, the scene is so deadly quiet. The nurse does just average things, checking up on locked doors. However as we are given a blank moment of the hallway, she begins to exit the room. To this, we are countered with her being chased by a tall white figure. Honestly, it was kind of expected from such a film franchise like The Exorcist. However the scariest part is that sharp churn of the music, showing how these eerie quick scores can prove to be vital and should be integrated into the project.

This scene from The conjuring is a roller coaster of emotions. The entire scene is deeply creepy and the audience definitely reciprocates this. However their is no doubt that the legitimate scariest thing coming from this scene is the random and sudden burst of clap before the light turns out. By providing a sound not shown on screen, or at least mostly hidden, we are given this sheer effect of creepiness which would be a great addition as our killer will make a sound of screen followed by a fast cut.

This is the last scene that I will be showing. It comes from the Insidious series of the movies, the first one. The entire scene is scary, without a doubt, however the most tension coming from the jump scare occurs when the character views the red figure. But to be honest, if he made no noise, it would be just as scary as the few seconds before it. As he makes that little screech the main character and audience are both very freaked out.

More group discussion

After delegation within class and countless searches through the free music archive, we had found the song that will be the best substitute for "Run Rabbit Run". "Reuben Rag",  brings that old and staticy element to the song, which adds to the creepiness along with the singer just sounding eerie as she sings, if it were to be slowed a bit. However it adds to those elements which were trying to get out of the other and much more, for it to be free. It is just more creepy in general as well, because she begins to yell soundlessly in the song for no reason. Likewise, my group also made some large changes to the physical storyboard elements and nature to the story. Rather than the shot of the lightbulb with the kidnapped at the bottom frame, we decided it would be cooler if we were to get a close up shot of the serial killer cleaning a knife as they cut vegetables very ominously as pop music plays at a slow pace to create the sense that this is not a horror movie, to be eerily juxtaposed with an image of a half beaten man on the floor. Like wise, rather than the kidnapped person's phone being not charged, it will just have no single, to set up for the calling scene. The kidnapped will also somehow drop something, so how later on, while the music plays from the radio, the killer can accidentally step on it, setting up the murder and jump scare, as seen in the terminator 2 film opening, a research post will be done later on this. Likewise, rather than the murder dragging the body, we see it rather fit that they are on a call with someone who they called, while the person on the other line yells "hello...hello" and hangs up as symbolism for the death.

Here we are demonstrated one of the changes in the storyboard as the one of the near opening scenes after the low angle of the house is the clear change of direction to focus on the murderer as we change from introducing the kidnapped to them actually doing something simple yet ominous as cutting vegetables, as music plays in the back, such as an ominous beat like the one linked.

Here is just a demonstration of small changes to be made, as they'll play more important roles to the end of the actual movie intro in developing mood and character setting by allowing us to leave this ominousness as the call is ongoing through the murder.

This is the last demonstration I will show of changes to the storyboard. Here we made a change to the actual murdering scene. Rather than a quick and rapid jump scare, it will be enticed with a breaking of a some object, glass we are assuming but we don't know how the glass will get there, along with this cutting back into the quick and fast paced jump scare of the murder.

Late night updates

In light of the music denial, I do bring some good news. One of my friends is a very good photographer and filmer and willingly said that he would help in the project by allowing us to use his camera and help shoot, obviously under our jurisdiction and ideas. He would just be the man filming, but we would be giving the directions and shots, but he is a great addition to the team nonetheless, as he won an award last year in his middle school for best motion picture, which I will link. However, this week wasn't all about success. We have easily fallen behind schedule as were not able to meet all together for practice shots as mostly everyone was busy with family plans, as well as me personally having a Waterpolo tournament for most of the day from thurSaturdaysaturday. Lastly however, it seems like we have decided between two songs on what we are going to use in subsitution for "Run Rabbit Run". Those being "Everybody's Jazzin it" and "Edison Amber Record: 716"

Music denial

Today we were brought in some bad news from the company owning the rights to "Run Rabbit Run", Music Slaes. They had requested nearly a couple thousand to use the song, although we have a budget on music of $0.00. So we must look past our mistakes of the past and look towards the future to our next step in acquiring the best music for the song. So the best way would be to just look for copyright free music from the 50's/60's. So I cam across this website: https://freemusicarchive.org. It has such a wide variety of free and easy to use music. So as of now this website will aid us in finding the substitute for "Run Rabbit Run". The song that we are seeking for must have that same style to which "Run Rabbit Run" has. That being starting off slow and run into this systemic growth into the main lyrical section of the song towards the end, while at the same time having some sort of symbolism, and having the ability to sound creepy. Quite a few of these were found on the album " Antique Phonograph Music Program 01/19/2016". This is viewed in the great one step and Beauty's eyes. However the final decision of what song will be used wont be decided until there is further discussion from the entire group. That decision should defiantly be made by tomorrow.

Props and character selection

Today we compiled a list of all the props and filming equipment needed to make this project a success. We decided the best thing would be to compile the list, get all the items, and then split the cost of all the products so the distribution of cost is equal. We need a plain white shirt for the kidnapped person to wear which cost around $3/$4. Next needed was a blank mask from Party City which cost $3.99. Finally, fake body parts to place into the cabinet where the kidnapped character is given this jump scare reaction. This ranges from $5-$10. For filming, we would need a tripod and microphone that can be plugged into a phone. Most cheap tripods that are extendable range anywhere from $15-$25. Likewise, I already own a microphone that can be plugged into a phone. However the only issue there is that my iPhone doesn't have a headphone jack. However, this can easily be fixed with a dongle which I own. We were also able to select who would be perfect for each role. I would act as the main director and filmogropher as it was decided that I have the most creative decision on the project so far, and it would be easiest for me to be able to portray what was expected of the actors. Nico would be our main killer as his acting skills would be too poor for being the kidnapper so his role would be simple through being a masked killer. Likely his large stature provides large impression and fear in the viewers to truly believe what is being portrayed to them on the screen. Lastly, the last delegated job would go to the last member of the group Antonio as his acting skills would be just as well as size to be dragged by the killer isn't the hardest thing to maintain.

Elaborated planning for filming

Today in class we devised an outline and due dates for us to begin all the process for filming, editing, and creating mis en scene. Nico arrives back on 3/4, which makes the dates 3/5-3/8 essential for getting all background and planning done, along with finding the music essential for the project, with possible licensing, scores, and sound effects. Likewise, 3/9-3/10 all will serve for getting in practice shots as well as the assembling and finding of the perfect props and film sites. The dates of the final film shots will take place on weekends of the following weeks. Those being 3/16-3/17 and the first week of spring break  3/26. This will leave us with 3/27-31 of spring break along with the remaining dates until 4/6 to edit, revise, and prose and final touches. All this must take into account our limitations through Nico's college visits and Antonio's work schedule which varies widely.

Location Scouting

Today we all began looking for spots in our houses that could be possible shooting spots. In my outside garage, I found that this may be the ideal spot for shooting. Although being small, and cramped, we could easily move some of the furniture around to make for an easy and beautifully shooting location.

This image is just introductory to the amount of spacing, it provides an easily spacious surrounding while also seeming somewhat remote if we were to move around some of the furniture to make it look empty. This would also provide good shot locations for the murderer first entering the room and the kidnapped character to try their attempts at leaving through the door.

In this shot, it isnt exemplified well as I nearly fell off my chair. However, if we were to move up a little higher, it would give a beautifully mastered shot for the opening where we are first introduced to the kidnapped character. Likewise, if we were to pan up a bit, you would see the lights are cool-white fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs make a lot of noise, which is the clear effect that we are trying to emit in contrast to the silence and near lifeless body on the floor.

The cabinet location here is a perfect place to show the hidden mis en scene of some sort of body part which we are trying to integrate into the scene here. For the cabinets to be on top of each other adds this extra layer of excitement as the character frantically searches for a charger and is randomly found with a body part and jumps backward.

I also began testing the walls for the shadow effects and they look shaky due to my own personal demise, however, it could still be tested and fixed, however, I am starting to learn it would probably be better to find a way to improve the killing method displayed for the viewers. At this point in time, the shadows do not seem as if they will work, but only time and practice shots will tell.

Storyboarding time

Here is the theoretical storyboard, it's first model for the proposed shots and scene points of the film opening. The first image provides a low angle of a long shot to introduce the setting, which is of course the house of the serial killer. Next we are provided with a high angle of a diming/twitching lightbulb as flies swarm around, with the character who has been kidnapped in the background. We are then provided with a medium shot of the captured as they wakeup from a beating and realize they have lost an arm, this provides a great introduction to the character and brings raw sense of emotion. As the character moves, we get a medium shot of just the characters legs as they swaddle to find their phone. We are then given an over the shoulder shot of the character realizing their phone is completely dead, to which then next shot is a long shot of them throwing their phone from a further distance to give this sense of ominousness. We are next provided with a medium shot of the character realizing the door to leave is locked, while we move on to a high angle shot of them searching through the cabinets for a charger. The next shot dwells into the characters sheer fear as they fall backwards as they find teeth inside of the next cupboard. As the character regains a sense of being, the radio begins to play a song (we are trying to get "Run Rabbit Run" by Flanagan and Allen) in a very low prose. As they move closer the song gets louder as any usage of sound perspective is necessary. We are then given a medium shot jump scare of the new introduced serial killer running in and pushing the captured. We are given a series of stabbings using shadowing mechanics/ extreme close ups which is TBD. However as the second stab comes into the chest, the go onto a closet wall with usage of shadows to provide the main title header. While we move on to a shot under a bed, which only shows us the murderer dragging and dealing with cleanup of the dead lifeless body while credits roll.

Group meeting

Today I met with other groups for the portfolio project, as we discussed all our ideas and theming for everyone's different project. The meeting actually went very successfully. Coming into the meeting, I was very lost on the actual plot and filming direction to go. I was given some very interesting ideas as well. One thing discussed was filming speed. To truly encapsulate the film opening with the direction of being location development based, along with being able to capture a scary wow factor, must be paced slowly. Likewise, I was told to majorly focus on score and sound effects, as commentary and dialogue just wouldn't be able to develop film opening as well as physical sounds would. The horror element trying to be established here is more for developing the mood and character narrative, rather than the actual victim's premise. We also discussed how difficult the background would be to achieve that certain mood of the atmosphere. Hence location scouting must begin very soon, as finding a dark and empty room in a house is kind of difficult. The only place that could aid in this that we discussed could be a garage or bathroom. But that kind of would take away from the mood of the person being in a random bedroom and makes the music coming from the radio awkward. Another issue brought around was the murdering of the character. I thought it would be a good idea to use shadows or implied death such as the movies like Peeping Tom and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

However, it was recommended to use extreme close-ups, close-ups, and very quick cuts such as those seen in Psycho

I think it would be a great idea to have maybe one or two cuts. Another idea was brought about to somehow find a juxtaposition between an image or sound into the credit scenes/title screen, along with a fade out of the murder dragging the dead body, time permitting of course.