Filming blog: finally filming the video

Filming our opening sequence took place after school. My group and I realized the best time to film is when it is raining outside because less people will leave their house. The library was less packed and quiet like we wanted. After doing two other filming lessons we knew what was expected this time. We had to record the same thing over and over again. Our facial expressions had to be the same every time. We kept on forgetting lines so the process was very long. There was a time when I had to record a scene five times due to laughter ten anger. We were getting all upset because of how many takes were put into getting one scene down. There were times when the sound was not clear in the videos because of the distance from the cast member. We had diegetic sounds used a lot in the film. Outside of the library, we found the perfect lot. One of the members has a lot close to a family business that is usually empty and has no interaction with people. That was a very important part of our video because it looks very suspicious. My biggest problem from the jump was finding the right location. I was able to find the location and be with the right people. The library was close to the open lot which worked in our favor. The drive was not long either. We were able to stick to our safety procedure with a new schedule. Our expectations were definitely met. 

Why we didn’t start filming yet

The costumes are now set. The idea is clear. The filming process has officially started for our opening sequence. Over the weekend, my crew and I went scouting for some locations that would possibly fit our liking. We have a vision for exactly how we want our location to look. The tricky part is actually finding the perfect library. Upon going to the library, we advised the librarian that we would be filming. To our surprise, the librarian suggested we didn’t record at this location because people tend to talk a lot even when they are not supposed to. It was filled with noisy college kids who were partaking in their study group. We still tried to record. The external sound of the library was actually affecting our video. The dull lighting didn't fit our liking as well. Finding an abandoned lot is extremely difficult as well. We want our location to have crushed up stone, no trees and a blank background which we realize is realistic in the area we live in. We still tried to record with hopes that we would like it after all. That was not the case in the long run. After rewatching the video we realized we didn’t like it and we need to try again somewhere else. The lighting was not as dull as expected either. The goal is to find better locations to have footage. After The footage, we can start editing.

Filming the Opening sequence

I haven’t started the filming process of the opening sequence because I believe it takes a lot of planning. We (my group and I) decided to start filming last Monday however, we didn’t. I strongly believed we were not ready. On top of that my schedule couldn’t align with the others as well. I plan on filming this weekend. To do so, I will film off of my phone. I find it easier to film off of a phone and use iMovie to edit. Due to how I know how simple it is, I will take the easy way and and help lead my group. This is the first project I have done that will take longer than a minute. A lot of takes and scenes will have to be taken. That being said we need to be more prepared. To do so, I'm currently making sure our costumes are in check. There is no fancy or extra clothing however, every detail matter. Buying a black mask and gloves seems very fishy in the real world, so my group and I are looking for those materials at home. The location is not set in stone yet as well. We’re not sure what city we will be in or which library will be open when the filming starts. It’s clear that we are not a hundred percent ready to film. There is still in depth research we need to do on the locations of the library. Being considerate, we also have to make sure we notify anyone watching us act out these actions that we are filming. My group and I do not want to scare or frighten people. 

Storyboard for Opening sequence

The elements of a horror film starts from slide one through five. these scenes were filled with close up shots of every individual involved. Many of the starting scenes are in the library then it moves to the car. As the scenes go by, the intensity grows.the ending on scene 5 got even more intense. In slide six through 10, it talked about how we are going to go about playing the roles for those scenes. My scenes mainly included medium shots. Majority of the time the scenes are in the car. The scenes get intense as the story goes on. It has an ending thats going to have you wonder what happens next.

Title Design in Detail for our Opening Sequence

This powerpoint is about the title design of our final project. The font is very important. It can create a tone. The title could draw people into the movie. For our title font, we are using Blombat. It is a very creepy horror film font. It looks like blood on a wall that has been painted. We are using "Times New Roman" for our names so, that is is bold. But times new roman also will not distract the audience from the film. The powerpoint goes more into depth about our font.

Location, Health, Participation, and Schedule for our Opening Sequence

This powerpoint has the details about Location, health and safety, participants and the schedule. The filming location is in a few places. We're using a library, parking lot, and trunk. We think those locations will help add the the scary tone of our film. We also have a plan for health and safety. We will be cautious when driving. We also plan to bring a first aid kit. Our main participants are Naiya, Na'mya, and Ambrielle. The schedule is done on a week by week format. The powerpoint further goes into depth about each topic.

Planning the Scene W/ Sound

Through out the power point I wrote out the whole script. I wrote the script starting form scene 1 to scene 10. I included the sounds that will be heard through out the film. For the sounds I included diegetic and no diegetic. Most of the sounds included an instrumental, music from the radio, and movement sounds from the actors. It only took me 4 slides to write out the whole script due to the fact it's not much being said. Through out the script it's manly people in shock and trying to find somewhere to hide the body not too much talking. I wrote who will be saying who by naming them Person 1, Person 2, and Person 3, and victim. The names made it less confusing and easier to understand the script for the actors. In total 4 people will be acting through out the film. 

Planning the Scenes

The google slide attached depicts the scenes to our opening sequence. These ten slides include every camera change that will occur. The action of each character is explained thoroughly. The details, small and large are also included. Details such as camera angles and movements are included. Though the statements being made are not included, the different types of sound in a movie is added into the presentation as well. This is because we want to understand our film in all aspects. the different components of Mis- En- Scene are added because it illustrates what we want each scene to be like. We used our vision to further this google slide presentation. The inclusion of these elements are needed because we can look back to understand our thought process when creating our storyboard.

Title Research: “Venom”

In the opening sequence of venom there were 22 titles displayed in the film.

The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are parts of the city and the venom monster itself.

The images carry a very important role because the whole movie is about the venom monster and most of the action takes place in the city.

The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset by the whole scary monster being in the film killing people and making people become horrified creeping out the audience.

The film establishes enigma from the outset by putting the monster and the voice over in the beginning and it helps me jump to the conclusion that at the end of the movie the venom monster will most likely get killed because someone will want to stop him from hurting others.

Some strategies that are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience is by suspense. With the first clip of the movie inserted in the beginning along with the voice over that was inserted it leaves you wondering on what is about to happen.

Technology has been used effectively by inserting the voice over, fade in, fade out, and high angle.

Title Research: “The Conjuring”

Throughout the opening sequence of the film i counted 22 titles in total.

The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are pictures of families with different kids ranging from different ages and a picture of the nun

The connotation that the image carries is that there is going to be some paranormal activity going on inside the families houses and something horrible is going to happen

The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset by being a horror movie. The movie is basically a paranormal movie and how horrifying events happen in the house with the family. The suspenseful music that is used in other horror movies is also there.

The film establishes enigma from the outset by to show you what families are going to be in the movie and to keep you sitting in your chair to wonder what’s going to happen next because why are there multiple families in a horror movie it gets you wondering. It gets you jumping to the conclusion of thinking these families are bout to go through terrible scenarios

The strategies that are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience is by the suspense. The suspenseful music and the images provided keep you wondering and sitting in your chair waiting for the next scene. 

Technology has been effectively used through the film by Fade in, three shot, two shot, eye level, fade out, and establishing shot.

Title Research: “Scary Stories to Tell in the dark”

A horror film titled “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” was researched on www.artofthetitle.com to resonate with my movie genre. In the opening, there are nineteen titles. These included the title, director, screenplay, screen story, based on series by, producer, executive producer, director of photography, production designer, editor, costume designer, music, music supervision, actors, casting , presenters, associations, and the production of the film. In the opening sequence, the background is overpowered with black and dark red images. It's clear that images are outlines from trees, roots and other earthly yet scary things you will see in the woods. The connotation in these images invokes a scary and grimy idea of what the movie will possibly be about. Horror movies typically have mystery and suspense in their openings to catch the audience's attention. The opening of this movie creates suspense which is a technique that is carried out in every horror film. Its puzzling in the opening because of how much information is not given about what is going to occur in the movie. For audiences that are intrigued by horror films, the images and colors used brought in mystery which is something that is predicted to make any horror film lover intrigued. The transitions used were very common with a change of titles. The editing skills used were impeccable due to the different images of trees and roots displayed in the opening sequence and how well everything wrapped into each other. 

Title Research: “Get Out”

The movie “Get Out” was title researched on www.artofthetitle.com because it has the same genre as my group and I’s genre, Horror. This movie contains seventeen titles with multiple people in each category. These titles included presenters, production, in association, the film type, the actual title, actors, castings, music, music supervision, costume designer, edited by, production designer, director of photography, co-producers, executive producers, producers, written and directed by. The first couple seconds of this opening is showing a white car on the street driving away. Instantly it switches to a tracking shot of a car driving past the woods really fast. Following that scene, the main characters appeared fulfilling their daily tasks. There were pictures shown that one of the characters took displayed in his house however it's believed to be there for aesthetic purposes. It is believed that the opening should have a connection to what the actual movie is about but there is none. The opening just included a change of scenes from a dark road, to the wood, then one of the characters house. Before the movie starts, we know its a horror film but the fact that the intro isn't scary confuses the viewers. There is nothing about fear or terror seen so if anything the viewers should be open into seeing what will happen when the movie actually starts. Around the time this movie was released, the director was getting a buzz which is why the movie did so well its opening week, not because of the opening. Viewers knew it was a horror film, they just wanted to know what direction it would go in which is what drew so many people in. The film started at a high angle with a white car driving off, there was then an eye level tracking shot just showing the woods in the background with the actors name. The shots with the characters appearing varied due to what they were doing, there were a few medium shots, medium close up, point of view and over the shoulder shots. The transitions were very quick and there was no fade into any new background or image. The editing techniques were pretty basic as well, there was no irregular or unusual technique used. 

Title Research: Watch the Titles

 

The first thing that catches my eye on the website is the interviews. They have a lot of different interviews with many different groups and people. Most of them, I don’t know. But, they have a lot of information. So, this would be a good place to do research. The next thing I noticed is how many different subsections the website has. They have feature film, TV shows, event titles, student projects, video games, and french fridays. Each one has a little bit of information. Each one also has examples and different shows or movies. At the top of the website, there are starters to films. I also do not know the shows or movies that are in it. This website could be beneficial to me. Many of the information and examples it has, I don’t know about them. So, I could learn a lot of the people, the shows, and movies. I like this website

Title Research: Art of the Title

The first thing I noticed on this website is all the different movies and shows they have. They have the top ten when you first see the website. Then when you scroll down and they have a few movies. Each movie has a couple of sentences about the movie or show. Then, you can go further in depth in the movies and shows.  There are two drop down menus. The drop down menus are “Title sequences” and “designers and studios”. The ‘Title sequences” gives you many different sequences that you could look at and watch for example as well as learn from. The designer and studios drop down menu has a bunch of designers and studios that you could look at. The designers with blue dots next to their name means that there is full interviews available with them. From the interviews, you could learn a lot about them and the ideas and meanings behind their work. When you click the studios, they give information about it. The information given is about when the studio is established, some articles about it, and the designer behind it. Over all, this was a very information filled website. I like this website