Audience and Institution Practice Essay

To what extent is digital distribution vital to the media area you have studied?

    Digital distribution is one of the most important parts after film-making that there is and has changed the way films can be advertised and essentially influence the profit they can make. It contributes to releasing new movies on streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime or on the internet using websites such as YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. It also makes new or old movies be able to be bought digitally like on iTunes or On Demand or downloaded illegally on sketchy websites. Even theaters have become digital now using DCP’s to play their movies. Nowadays Digital distribution is crucial and in most cases the only way you will be able to watch a film due to COVID-19.
    Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther are two movies that were both distributed by Walt Disney, but in some ways took different approaches in how and where they would be distributed. They both decided to distribute their movies to specific theatres to have a red carpet premiere in order to promote their release dates. Due to media ownership Guardians of the Galaxy was not able to be streamed on services like Hulu or Netflix because of owning rights, this causes the movie to make less money then it could’ve. Although people were still able to buy it on DVD or on websites like Amazon. On the other hand, Black panther was distributed on all streaming services including Netflix making it gain more attention and money because it was easier to access to a wider audience. It also was distributed to theatres to have a “...a special screening in Los Angeles on January 29, 2018.” To add on, Disney Plus uses consumption by allowing viewers to see that their movie is going to be taken out of Netflix and placed into their own digital streaming service. By taking out Guardians of the Galaxy and Black panther from other streaming sites and putting them on their own this helps them because by distributing their movies digitally; Walt Disney will make all of the money they usually would without paying other companies to stream them.
    Spider-Man is another successful movie making more than $880 million worldwide and was the sixth highest grossing film of 2017. This movie would be digitally distributed on Youtube, Amazon, and ITunes, but is not free on each of these apps. Spider-Man is a superhero who most teenagers and kids are attracted to. Sony used synergy to their advantage by digitally distributing video games made by their own gaming companies and then marketing to a younger audience. In 2018 “Marvel's Spider-Man” was made, this game “...broke records and became the best-selling first-party title ever ousting God of War from the top spot…” By late November of 2019 the game sold over “9 million copies worldwide.” On top of the money made from streaming services and 880 million from movie theatres, they made an additional 9 million from the video game.
    Jurassic world is another movie that was highly popular and made “...$1.6 billion in box office revenue...” and ranked “...sixth among the highest-grossing films of all time.” To gain attention Jurassic world marketed by putting trailers on the internet, TV, and before other movies would play in theaters. This was done digitally and would be a very successful method for them. To add on, they created a website filled with information, facts about dinosaurs and they even had a “live broadcast” with interactive webcams. This helped in creating excitement before the actual movie would come out. After it did, the movie did incredibly well as you can see from how much it made. They would later distribute the movie on Disney’s streaming service ‘Disney Plus’ allowing them to have more control of where their movies were being put out and where viewers would be able to watch them.
    In conclusion, technology has allowed digital distribution to become one of the main ways people are able to watch films on their phones, tablets, and other devices. By distributing these films on our devices it allows audiences to watch their favorite movies in the comfort of their own home. Digital distribution has impacted films and revolutionized them for the better by allowing us to play games featuring our favorite characters, it has allowed theaters to use faster methods in screening by sending films digitally using DCP’s and now we can even download the movies to our phones from websites. Digital distribution is so important and now that everyone is stuck at home it is so sweet to still be able to have entertainment and enjoy the heroes we love because if not for Digital distribution none of the early access or old movies we like would be available to us.

Extract Practice-Game of Thrones

    The theme behind the extract is dense and suspenseful. The characters look uncertain of what is to come ahead. When they get to their destination, war and blood look as though they are going to be in the near future. A war for the rightful king to reign.
    In the beginning of the extract, the first scene begins with a high angle looking down at a ship. Non diegetic sounds of birds are loud, while the ocean waves take them to their mysterious location. Mountains and little islands surround the boat creating almost suffocation. After this, the camera focuses on two male characters. The camera slowly zooms in making you question what they are looking at and why they have such serious expressions. Incidental sound adds to the suspense and disgusted looks on their faces by allowing the audience to hear the tension. Another key thing I recognized was their outfits, the costumes in this extract are of medieval time and the clothes they are wearing are fancy, which is only worn by people of a higher power or ranking. In these times there was a lot of war, so it makes me question is something big coming? Using these different camera angles and sounds it shows the audiences the emotions the characters are going through and how they feel. Following this is a zoom out showing us a large statue of a soldier with its sword cut in half enforcing the idea of my theme of war.
    To continue, the next scene follows the two men from the ship into a shaded, mostly empty dark room. The only set design is the chairs and long table, creating a lonely environment. The action match from the conversation to one of the male characters pacing back and forth in a long hallway shows how impatient and frustrated the man is getting. Meanwhile, his companion is calm, reserved, and is trying to ease the situation. You can tell he is someone who takes care or works for the man. Later, the three men finally join the other two. Although they have been waiting anxiously they are uncertain of the three men beyond them and look as though they are questioning if they can trust them. This action match follows my theme by proving the character's uncertainty.
    In addition, the next scene is filled with the most dialogue and continues to have a shot/reverse-shot of each character discussing who should be in charge. One of the three men insults the “lord” and calls the other a thief. The characters continue to go back and forth and it just seems that they cannot come to a conclusion. Going back to my theme one of the three men remains unfazed by what the “lords” friend is saying to him. The three men have much more power than the other two and you can hear this by the dialogue and what the way they are speaking to each other. This goes back to my theme because there is conflict between the rights of who will reign the kingdom and who is really in charge.
    Furthermore, there seems to be no more options because the three men just will not listen or try to understand what the two main characters are saying to them. At this point one of the main men is not willing to bargain anymore and he goes to the fullest extent. He is shown in a medium long shot and approaches the men directly and close. His demeanor changed and his seriousness to its fullest. He takes off his glove to show the three men that his “lord” did make him pay for his crimes by cutting off the ends of his fingers. To add on, a reaction shot follows this by the face of the one of the three men. He is shocked and now understands that the “lord” acts like a true king and gives their people what they deserve when they have done badly. The reaction shot follows my theme by making the audience realize that one of the main characters was trying to prove a point that the other deserves the throne because he is not scared to draw blood.
    In conclusion, throughout each scene it is evident that the author is trying to portray the theme of war, consequences, and rightful ownership through the scenes following these two characters. At first there was mystery and suspense, but that would be uncovered by the truth of the matter. Which is, who shall reign? My theme was justified by the actions of both the main characters and the reactions from those against them. Their point was proven and left the opposers speechless.

Opening Sequence Film & CCR

The opening sequence I filmed with my group is called, "The HOUSE ON 10TH AVE"! Below, I attached the opening sequence in Google Slides along with my CCR interview. Out of all the films, this was the most fun to film. It was the hardest to film compared to the other two. Currently, there is a lot going on in the world so I wanted to do more editing on the titles. It was disappointing that we could not make the titles how I had planned because it would have added the extra horror feel to the film. I came a long way to be able to film such a project at first I didn't even know how to cut scenes or even add titles. Now, I can do all that and much more. The biggest thing for me during this film was the acting. It was hard to make your movements and expressions seem genuine. Even when I was talking it sounded like I had no emotion sometimes. It was not entirely easy to film. The first issue we had was searching for props because many stores didn't have any scary props due to the fact of it not being Halloween season. I made fake scar wax with flour and Vaseline and I made fake blood with corn starch and food dye. Next, was meeting up and having to film several weekends to film this includes re-filming at different locations. This was due to numerous reasons being the weather or members of the group weren't able to film, but we figured it out by scheduling. The last issue was to change the shooting script and sound script throughout filming. Although this may happen when filming, we ended up having a completely different script. This helped make the acting more realistic and allowed us to be more creative. I created this horror film because I love horror movies and anything scary. The idea just seemed like something fun I could make with my friends. All in all, this was the last film I got to create with my friends and though it is sad that I won't be filming anything anymore. It has opened my eyes and made me question if I want to pursue something in film. Anyways, I hope you take a look at my film and enjoy it.

 

Music Video Film And CCR

Below, I attached the music video in Google Slides and the CCR. This was the second film I did in AICE Media Studies. This was the second hardest film. It was also the second most fun one. I genuinely enjoyed filming this video because of the dancing and props. One disadvantage my group and I had was getting the film to match up with the audio of the music. The second disadvantage was the editing process. There were a couple of scenes that were short, so the frames stopped working. My favorite part was the matching transitions. We came up with a bunch of those. Even though we matched the lyrics to our actions. The ending was also very fun and was only shot once. However, it was difficult to find props to help portray the lyrics and costumes. I decided to organize it. Anyeska used items she had at her home for props and bought matching sunglasses for all the character's costumes, except for a "birthday suit" for one of Lesly's scenes. For this project, I taught everyone a simple dance and that is the one we did. I didn't want to have the same dance as the original. We filmed at Anyeska's house. This film had a ton some retakes throughout the two days of meeting up, because of mistakes in acting or when creating the transitions. To end with, this was a fun music video to film and really let us get creative.



     My product uses conventions such as a mixture style, which is a combination of narrative and performance. Although we are dancing in front of the camera we also are telling a story about someone being lazy and not wanting to leave the house. We also use popular camera angles used in many other music videos such as wide, mid, and over the shoulder shots. Props are also used such as in other music videos (confetti and signs with “no”). Some ways we challenge conventions is  lighting from Mis-En-Scene, most music videos you see have a lot of colors or special effects. We did not add any special effects and our music video was not colorful at all. If anything the audience may have gotten a sad feeling at first because the lightning is quite dull, but when the music starts playing and we dance the tone immediately changes. Another way we challenged conventions was by not adding any sound or background noise to the music video. We did not want to distract the audiences with other noises. We want them to pay attention to the storyline and what is happening. Editing we used that is also different from most music videos is adding the lyrics at the bottom. Our video was filmed in a house, so this gives the audience  a safe, happy feel; unlike other music videos that have many different locations that do not correlate with each other.Our music video represents many social groups some are introverts, lazy people, and those who just simply do not want to leave the house sometimes. This song applies to all age groups and all races. Everyone has had a day where they did not want to leave their house. Depending on how you look at the video some issues you may think are being addressed are people with social anxiety who do not like to leave their house due to their illness or people who do not like to talk or communicate with others. Although, the song was targeted to those who are lazy and just do not want to do anything that day. Hence why most of the lyrics talk about staying home, not answering phone calls, and not doing anything.

    My product engages with the audience by being relatable and having an upbeat sound. Putting the lyrics underneath the scenes of the videos allows the audience to participate and be more engaged. Since we are dancing in the video this encourages others to get up and dance with us. People might also find humor in our video such as the scene where Lesly is calling me and the name on my phone says missed call from “Crackhead Les Les”. My product in this film can be disturbed in many ways as a real media text. The distribution of this product will go through platforms such as YouTube ,Facebook, and sites like  Instagram. These sites are widely used platforms, by all ages and reach millions of people. People create parodies and remakes on YouTube just like we did on our music video. We would advertise our video on instagram, so that way people could find it and share with others.

    My production skills developed enormously throughout this project. One of the biggest skills I learned was how to film camera angles. Last time we depended on the tripod a lot, but while filming our music video we hand held the camera in most of the scenes besides all of the dance scenes. This helped me become a better filmmaker.  I also learned to be more coordinated and focused. I was able to tell what camera angles looked best for the particular scene we were shooting. I also gave some sense of direction to the dancing scenes. My editing did get better, by Lesly explaining to me what they did while I was gone and him showing me the different techniques they used before the film was turned in.

    My project involved a lot of integrating software, hardware, and online. I used software which was the editing program, Pinnacle Studios. Pinnacle Studios was used to edit and create the film. I used hardware, which was the camera to record the scenes that are shown throughout the film. The camera was provided by the school. Lastly, I used online, which is a part of the editing program. It was used to retrieve the song and email communication to export all the footage for download.

Vans Commercial Film And CCR

This is my commercial blog. Below, I attached the commercial in Google Slides and wrote the CCR. This was the first film I made in AICE Media Studies. It was the shortest film I did. It was the easiest to film for me. The editing wasn't that hard. It was easy because it was such a short film that it didn't take much time to edit.  It was fun being able to match and show off our product together. I enjoyed working with my friends. It’s cool to see how far I have come with my acting, filming and editing skills. I remember I loved acting and recording my friends. It was fun trying to figure out how to do our own effects like Lesly's shoes changing. If I could change something about the film I would change the fact that it took place at school.  I didn't have as much creative freedom and I would have preferred to go elsewhere. I would have liked to go to a skate park or beach because the brand represents those places.I was a bit camera shy, but I worked through it and got my scenes done. Working with my friends was great. Lastly, I believe our commercial came out well. It was hard work but fun nonetheless. Overall, I really enjoyed our first film together.

    The product we used, uses conventions in many different ways. One way we use conventions is when we had the characters wear clothes that represent our brand “Vans”. This appears to the audience that the people wearing “Vans” must really enjoy the clothing. Another convention used is Nick having a skateboard, then skateboarding and actually knowing how to do tricks. This creates the idea that people who skateboard like and do wear this brand. Using the natural light and having such a bright background makes the atmosphere seem happy and calm. We challenge this convention of calmness when Lesly falls down the stairs and says in frustration, “I can’t do anything in these”. My film represents all different races, ethnicity's, and genders. We showcase this by having four different stereotypes: the runner, regular citizen, model, and skateboarder. All with different jobs and lives, but they come together in the end to help this person who fell down the stairs because of their old worn-down shoes. The film embraces that not only can these stereotypical characters in “Vans” are the only people who can wear this brand, but a skateboarder, model, or even a regular person can wear it. “Vans” is for everyone. The film does not discriminate it has both male and female characters evenly. The main character of this advertisement is a young black male. Issues our film addresses is having things that need to be replaced. Things that can cause harm and trouble for some. Having shoes that literally are so old you trip and fall is no good. So that’s why we are advertising that you buy new ones that are reliable enough for running, sturdy enough for riding a skateboard, and fashionable enough to take pictures with.

    Audiences will cling to our commercial because the opening scene is someone falling down. Your first reaction would probably be, “what happened?”. “Is this person okay?”. “I wonder what he will do next?”. Someone who finds people falling or getting injured as a humorous thing would also result in them wanting to keep watching. Following up is a scene of someone skateboarding, which would catch someone’s eye if that is something they were interested in or enjoyed watching. This is the first scene where our logo “Vans” is shown. “Vans” is already a popular brand, so people will definitely want to see how the company will represent itself and show the audience how they are the best brand. We will prove to the audience you should buy the items we sell over any other company. Our products are reached to kids and adults, people who already support us will definitely watch our advertisement because we are something they already invest in. People will say “wow” to the falling, the music added in, the voiceovers, the characters, and all in all the hard work that was put into the commercial. The voiceover isn’t sad, dull, or boring. The person speaking is happy, upbeat, and really is excited about talking about our company. As we wore and used “Vans” differently, we show the audience that Vans is the best product for different activities like running, skateboarding, and modeling. Different ways we would get the commercial to the public is by posting it online. For example, YouTube or I could create a website. I could also pay other companies to show my advertisement on their games, videos, television channel, and web browsers. The film is produced by us, the people who made the film. We produced, wrote, directed, and did everything needed for the advertisement. You could also pay someone to produce the film for you. As I said before, the advertisement would be distributed to different websites and companies to reach audiences. Marketing would be on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and other platforms. The actors, actresses, and film crew could post about the advertisement on their social media or somewhere that connects a lot of people to get it out there.

    While creating this advertisement I matured and learned so much about the hard work and diligence it takes to create something such as a film in such a short amount of time. I’ve developed many tricks and skills that helped me for more future films. Production was something I loved doing as well as shooting different camera angles and using the camera. In the beginning when you first grab that tripod and camera from the teacher, you don’t know what to expect. I mean, especially since it’s your first time and there is not much experience yet. Before I didn’t know how to create a film, how to use a camera professionally, and how to edit. I researched a lot about how films are made and everything else, including the three main steps of stage production. Throughout the project I learned various things more and more. Eventually I got used to the process, but there's always room for improvement. My production skills have finally grown. Even though sometimes the editing software wouldn’t work or I had to keep repeating steps because something went wrong. I stayed persistent and did not give up. I have seen great improvement in my production and editing skills throughout the making of my film. Editing techniques I learned to complete this project was voice overs, cutting, speeding, filling in, adding text, sound reduction, and background music cropping. Before starting this film, I knew only the basics of film production. This project has helped me increase my skills and has allowed me to have a wider understanding and respect for other filmmakers. To add on, I learned to work as a group, share my thoughts with my friends, communicate, and in the end gain confidence in myself. I am now able to thoroughly get my ideas across and developed. Another thing that did not just advance my production skills, but also my peers was how we edited our film together as a group. Practicing always helps you get better and we showed this in our production skills. The more films we create throughout this class, the more advanced we will get at creating them, and the more we will grow as a filmmaker.

    The hardware I used was the camera to film the commercial. The entire group along with an outside friend were in the film advertising the product. One software that was used was the school’s computer. On the computer, Pinnacle Studios was used to edit. Transferring the footage from the camera to the computer we then started to edit the film into a 30 second film. Originally the amount of footage recorded was about 5 minutes as the raw film. Recording the voice over many times gave us multiple options to choose from. We would declare what sounded the best and what the finishing voice over would be. It was important to choose what would fit in the film. Technology was a huge part in creating this film. If it wasn’t for having technology, we would have not been able to edit or add to the film. By using an editing software from my computer or just a random online program, the process of making this film would have taken a tremendously longer amount of time. Rather than just using the school’s computers. As easy and reliable as it would be, it was very important to me that I was able to use an actual good quality camera instead of something low quality such as the camera on my computer or phone. Filming on my phone would not have made the video look or sound as beautiful and spotless as it turned out to be. Filming on my computer would have caused many issues such as angles, use of shots, placement, audio, and especially camera quality. Though my phone was not used for filming it served many other purposes. One of these purposes was research. I researched the conventions and different editing techniques used in commercials to advertise the product more efficiently. I also used my phone to watch other Van commercials, in order to look for certain eye-grabbing techniques. “Vans” uses advertising for their product in order to be more appealing to the audience. Using our phones allowed us to keep in touch with each other and contact my teachers for any help. Personal laptops were another form of technology that was utilized. As I did with my phone I watched Vans commercials on my laptop as well. The school computers were useful, but limited. The computers gave many problems such as being slow, there weren’t enough, and they did not work all the time. One example of this is when I was trying to cut up a scene in my commercial, the computer took several minutes to load and accomplish this act. Another problem I faced with the school computers was the crashing. For example, when I was trying to import several raw scenes into Pinnacle Studios; the computer shut down the application and gave an error notification. This wasted time and caused stress because we had to redo our process from before. Besides the crashing and speed of the computers, they were very effective in helping create the advertisement. All these forms of technology made it more convenient for us students to create a commercial that we were proud of.

Re-Editing Blog

    Re-editing our film has been a top priority for the past few days. It has been quite a struggle since we could not use the computers at school anymore. Transferring from Pinnacle Studios to Lesly's computer software has been a bit hard because Pinnacle Studios is what we were used to using. This has to be a change though because in the worst scenario Pinnacle Studios would just never load and we did try multiple different computers. When we were lucky and it worked that’s when we were able to edit. We now switch between both Pinnacle studios and Lesly's computer programmed video editor. This is due to the fact that we wanted to start at home and continue because the computers at school would sometimes be slow. So, Lesly imported all the scenes and put them in order of the storyboard. Therefore, we’d only have to split each scene in order to add specific details. For instance the titles design, transitions, and special effects. Since the titles in Pinnacle Studios did not have anything that would go with our theme, we used Lesly's editing software to edit the design of each title. This process was grueling because we had to decide which fonts and styles we wanted to use. Many fonts were very similar and were only different in tiny aspects.

    First, we wanted to find a scary font for the title of the movie, but at first we couldn’t so there was a basic one. We also wanted to fix the rest of the fonts, so it would match well with the title font. Anyeska and I found a scary dripping font which we changed to red and a green background. It looked as though blood was dripping, which helped create spookiness. The other titles were changed also, and the color along with it being red. After this, Britania began looking for transitions to add between each scene. It would be more entertaining and create suspense, and overall improve the smoothness of the film. So we thought about adding them at the beginning, when the girls are playing Frisbee as their title appears, to transitioning to the next person. Another detail we did was special effects. Lesly added a scream in the scene where Britania is separated from the group and sees the entity again before she gets possessed. Lesly and I also added a screeching effect when an eye line match was created between the monster and Claire. Below is a picture of me re-editing the beginning of the film.

Editing Blog: New Software

    Today the group and I re-filmed some more scenes that did not turn out good from before. So, once again we have to dump those scenes from the SD card to the computer. We cut unnecessary parts from each scene and continued to edit. We added titles and decided on a regular font for now. The font is white and does not appeal to our theme, but this will be changed later on. We added all of the titles we needed in the beginning. I added a creepy transition to the title of our movie. This will let the audience know the movie genre is horror. Along with this I added creepy music in the beginning. Lesly and I looked for copyright free music online and found plenty of amazing options.

    I edited the music to lower and completely disappear by the time the characters started with dialogue. Creating suspense from the very beginning. Since we couldn’t use a computer from school due to the Corona Virus epidemic. We decided to use Lesly’s computer editing software. Using his editing software we designed a scary edit to compliment the audience’s watching experience. This technique was found from previous horror films that have been made. This technique was to edit some quick pans of scary objects we filmed. One of the props was a scary doll, spiders, and a broken mirror. For the edit, the filter of the pan was changed. I also changed the color to black and white to adhere to the horror-like theme of the film. Below is a picture of the new editing software on Lesly’s computer that we are using.

Editing Blog: Inserting New Scenes

    At Anyeska’s house the group decided to log into our google drive and find all of the new scenes we filmed. Since we needed to re-film our scenes due to the fact some of the actors' appearances changed. Everything we had previously filmed was no longer good use. Therefore, we needed to start the editing process over again. This process was to ensure our film appeared smooth and appealing to the audience. First, I took the SD card reader provided to us by our teachers. The SD card reader contained all the scenes we filmed previously. We then opened up Pinnacle Studios editing software and dumped all of the scenes into the application. After this, I proceeded to move the scenes into the order of the storyboard. This is to help the film make more sense.

    Lesly created a method to where the group could identify where all scenes should be placed. This method is to number the scenes and then place them corresponding to their number. Before we would do that though each scene needed to have the bad parts cut out. Using the scissors icon we cut everything not needed out. This includes scenes that have the actors laughing or the camera moving out of place. It was important to review each scene more than once. If we did not another actor or cameraman could’ve been in the background of a shot. This would probably confuse the audience or look bad for the film. After each scene was cut I inserted all of the scenes. Due to us filming all day this is all the editing we got to do. The picture below is of us cutting each scene.

Re-Shoot Blog

    On Sunday, my group and I decided to go to Anyeska’s house to re-shoot some of our scenes that needed improvement. The meeting time was 4 o’clock p.m. The last few times we have filmed it only took us about two or three hours, so that’s why we were confident enough to film this later. The only scene we re-shot was the girls’ eating scene. This scene introduces the problem of Britannia's character “Claire” realizing that she forgot her phone. Lesly drove us to Domino’s so we could order and buy pizza. Then, we went back to Anyeska’s house and started filming the scene. Although it took multiple takes, we successfully finished the scene. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to re-shoot the rest of the scenes because it was raining. The following paragraph will explain the rest of the scenes and why we will be re-shooting next weekend.

    There are five scenes my group and I planned on reshooting. One being Anyeska’s scene, where she catches and throws the Frisbee for her title sequence. This scene needs improvement because she looks at the camera. Another scene is my title, where I catch and throw the Frisbee for my title sequence. This scene needs improvement because it is too short and looks staged. After this, we are going to re-shoot the Frisbee accidentally being thrown inside the abandoned house. This is because the viewer can’t see the Frisbee in the air and it looks unrealistic. Following this scene, we want to add a scene of Lesly (the monster) quickly taking the Frisbee that landed inside. The next scene planned is an action match. It will be a scene of the girls walking up to the house, opening the door and then walking in the house, closing the door. We recorded this the last time we filmed, but it got deleted. The picture below is the eating scene we were able to re-shoot.

Peer Review Blog

    During the peer review I enjoyed watching the film a lot. From the beginning, I liked how the name of the movie was red and in a font you would particularly see in scary movies. I also like how there was a transition from a red cup to a red shirt, that was very cool. The acting was good too. There was never a dull moment. A lot of anticipation was built up with the girl renting a room and the psycho. For example, I already knew there was something weird about the renter because she was always holding a knife. I liked how it was creepy and dark while the psycho was chasing the girl with a knife. The story was fluent and made sense. It made me wonder what was going to happen next.
    If I could make a few suggestions it would be the lighting, volume, and motive in the movie. I would make the chasing scene brighter. You can’t really see that well and it kind of makes the viewers lost. I thought the film had messed up or something. I also think that the volume could’ve been higher. You can’t hear the actors talk in most parts of the movie. That’s not good because dialogue is a major part in a movie. I think this could be easily fixed if they just spoke louder or edited this. I also feel as though there should’ve been a motive to the killer. Why does the killer want to kill the girl?

Filming Blog: Going To The Abandoned House

    On Sunday I headed to Anyeska’s house at 2 p.m, to get prop shopping for the abandoned house done. I wanted to decorate the house with creepy fake bugs, webs, rocks, sand, and candles. I also wanted to buy some plates and a mirror. I went to the Dollar Store to save some money due to the fact that we would only be using these things for the film. Everything was about fourteen dollars. Luckily, the Dollar Store had everything we wanted including a creepy old looking mirror and doll. After two hours of shopping we picked up Britania and met up with Lesly at Anyeska’s house. I started on Lesly’s makeup again as I did the day before and it took about an hour. After I was done, we headed to the abandoned house. Starting with the plates we bought we smashed them on the floor. Then we proceeded to put the fake bugs and scattered them around. Anyeska and I used finger paint on our hands and put hand-prints on the walls. Sand was then used to make a star and candles were placed on each point. As if someone had done a seance of some kind. We broke the mirror and placed the creepy doll in the middle of the star.  After setting everything up we began filming. First, we filmed all the scenes from outside of the house. Then, the first few seconds of the film where the three girls are playing with the Frisbee. Along with the scene of Claire losing the Frisbee and the creepy entity appears for the very first time. A tracking shot is of us running away. We didn’t get to re-film the inside scenes after the three girls ran away, so that will be on Sunday. Below is a picture of all of the items we bought from the store besides the plates we broke.

Filming Blog: Makeup, Props, and The First Scene

    While filming Saturday my group and I met together around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. As soon as everyone was together, we started heading to the store. Props were needed for the ghost and to decorate around the haunted house. The first stop was Party city. We searched Party City to try and find fake blood and wax for the scar, but there was none. Since Halloween already passed they were not selling those types of products. Next, we went to Walmart. Walmart also did not have any fake blood or scar wax. We did find a Frisbee that we would be using in the film instead of a ball. Later, I practiced the makeup for the scars on the entities face. Since we could not find fake blood or scar wax, Anyeska and I decided to buy items to make it ourselves. Lesly is playing the ghost, so I made fake cuts and a bullet wound with scar wax. I also put fake blood in the wounds to make it look realistic. I made the scar wax with flour and Vaseline. I made fake blood with corn syrup, food dye, and cornstarch. It looked pretty realistic. The makeup I brought helped make it look even more real because I blended blue, red, and black to make his skin look as if it was bruising on the outside of the scar. Black was used on his eyes to create under bags and on his mouth for just a scarier look. It was already dark outside because we went to two different stores and the makeup on Lesly took a while, so we decided to film all of our inside scenes. This is one of the shortest scenes because we are eating and then Britania’s character realizes she dropped her phone in the haunted house. This scene took about fifty shots because we kept messing up and laughing, but after we got it that was it for Saturday. Below is a picture of Lesly’s makeup.

Filming Blog: Starting The Final Film

The filming process has not yet started due to my group members and I not being able to meet up yet. Through the use of scripts and storyboards, we are using this to prepare to film for the project . The sound and shooting scripts have both been looked over by everyone in the group. There were some things we actually had to go back and change, in the storyboard and scripts. This is because some of the actors decided to change their character roles. Luckily, the roles were changed before we even picked up a camera. With everyone's contribution, the storyboard is complete. The storyboard and the script will help the filming process go smoothly as we already know exactly what we want to happen for the film. Another factor that will help us improve the film is the props. We will buy prosthetic makeup, props, and a mask for the “Ghost” to make the film more scary. The abandoned house will be perfect for the film as it is very eerie. The eerie house along with the scary props will help the movie hit its mark. My group and I have already made a filming schedule in order to be more effective. First, we will film on Sunday, February 20th in the afternoon. This filming will occur for some time until the sun goes down. Then, during the night, we will begin filming the second part. The darkness brings an unknown factor into the film, which makes it scarier. Good lighting will be ensured. Below is a picture of the camera and tripod we will be using for our project.

Film: Storyboard Blog

    Today, my teammates and I were able to start drawing out our storyboards. We grabbed our storyboard template, which we already had a stack of for future use. Then, immediately began. After completing our genre research, title research, and planning blogs where we discussed how we wanted to go about filming our opening scene, we knew it was time for our storyboard. It took approximately two hours to draw and write out our camera angles, camera movements, actions, and titles for each scene. Working diligently we were able to finish in class. First, we discussed our scenes with each other. Then, we made sure everyone agreed on what would happen in each scene and what angles we wanted to use to capture that moment. Although we had originally planned some of the scenes differently, there were changes in the final decision. It was decided that most of the scenes would be filmed at the abandoned house and some at Anyeska's house. Storyboarding would have been a much longer process if the entire group was not helping one another. We assigned different jobs, so that way we would all be diligently working. Since most of us in the group could not draw, we decided Lesly would be the best choice. Our storyboard consists of pan shots, medium shots, and high angles. It also has a brief overview of each character and each placement of the titles. Our opening scene will be around two minutes. So far, we are on a good track with timing. It is filled with great details that will guide us during the filming process. Our storyboard is shown below.

Planning Blog (Title Design in Details)

The studio my group and I have chosen is JLab Productions. In this Title, The Font size will be 40, the color would be black, the font would be Ultra. Also, the title will disappear after 2 to 3 seconds. The Production company we chose is RNFK Productions. The font, size, color, and duration will be the same. The film title we have chosen is “The House  on NW 10th Ave. The color will be red and the font size will be 80. Soon after the film title is shown, Actors’ Name titles will be shown. The actors include: “Anyeska, Britania, Lesly, And Jazmin. In the casting by title, The title will state, “Casting by Lesly”. Other slides include: Music by title, Costume Designer title, Edited by title, Production designer title, Director of photography title, Producer, executive producer title, Story by title, written by title, and directed by title.

Planning Blog (Health and Safety, Location, Sound, Schedule, and Participants)

For health and safety, we decided to bring a first aid kit on set in case anyone gets injured during the film-making process.  Also, we have the parents of my groupmate who volunteered to supervise while we are film-making. The supervisors will also have access to the phone that can dial 911. The location we will be filming at is an abandoned house in my group mates’ neighborhood. This house was burned down, so it gives off a spooky atmosphere. Another location will be Anyeska’s house. Our sound will be found online. Most of the scenes taking place in Anyeska’s house will take place in her Dining Room. Our Participants include: Anyeska as Molly, Britania as Claire, Jazmin as Rose, and Hangeno as the cameraman. My groupmates and I scheduled the filming to begin on February 16th and to end on March 27th.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

Below is our group’s PowerPoint of the sound script for our opening sequence. The sound script is about what the characters will be saying along with the type of sounds in each scene, minus angles, movements, and character movements. The purpose of the sound script is for us to know exactly which sounds to use in our movie, giving us a structure. Sounds which we plan to incorporate in our opening sequence include ambient music, diegetic sound, score, non-diegetic sound, and of course, dialogue. By having a variety of sounds, our opening sequence will appeal to the audience’s senses. Being that we have planned out our shooting and sound scripts, our ideas of our opening scene is beginning to manifest. We are now in a stage where we are more aware of how our movie will look and sound. Moreover, we have it in mind to edit in more information and do our final changes at any given moment being that we are still in the planning process. Making the sound script was relatively easy because we already knew what we wanted to use for the sound. The use of eerie music along with the monster’s laugh will definitely keep the audience on their feet.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

Above is our group’s PowerPoint of the shooting script for our opening sequence. The shooting script revolves around what we will be doing per scene. It involves the camera angles, movements, and character movements, minus the dialogue in each scene. There are 10 scenes, not including the title slide. The script writing format was written in short, visual sentences, avoiding more than three sentences in each scene. Some of the camera angles, movements, and shots that we plan to use in our opening sequence include three-shot, wide shot, point of view shot, medium shot, close-ups. By mapping out or script ahead of time, we will be more organized and have the ideas and plans set for the film. We had to think of ways to make all of our thoughts of the film come to life. As we progress through our planning process, we have it in mind that our ideas of our film can possibly change. Therefore, having access to our PowerPoint, we will always ensure to go back and edit in new details to perfect our movie to our liking.                    

Title Research: “Two Eyes Staring (2010)”

    My group and I watched the title sequence of,“Two Eyes Staring” (2010) from the Watch of the Titles website. During the title sequence, a consistent score played, dark backgrounds were shown, and creepy, unexplained visuals popped up on the screen. Collectively, these features gave off an ominous feeling, foreshadowing that the movie is clearly of the Horror genre. There were 14 titles in total which stayed on screen for approximately five seconds, each giving credit to the contributors who made the movie possible. Images which were prioritized include: shadows, dark, distorted pictures, reflections, and a little girl with a mask. The images gave off an eerie connotation mainly because of the fact that they were random, and had no context behind them. The genre horror was reinforced through symbolic and technical codes; for instance, the use of dark lighting, dark backgrounds, and creepy instrumentals to set a horrific mood. The strategies used to ensure that the film is reaching its targeted audience is the use of incomprehensible shots and images. By doing so, the producer was able to grab the audience’s attention— those who appreciate the creepy, enigmatic visuals in the opening sequence would want to continue to watch to experience fright that keeps them on the edge of their seats. Within the opening sequence, technology was used effectively through camera angles, transitions, and editing techniques. For the majority of the opening sequence, the common angles were extreme close up, and medium close up. Possibly, the use of persistent close up shots was to let the viewers in on the discrete, unexplained actions which caused an initial feeling of eeriness. The transitions which were used include: fade in, fade out, and inserts. The use of a fade in and fade out signifies that the opening sequence is starting (fade in) and ending (fade out). The use of inserts serve a purpose of highlighting the important elements of the opening scene such as the simple, creepy motions.

Title Research: “The Final Destination (2009)”

    My group and I watched the title sequence of, “The Final Destination” (2009) from the Watch of the Titles website. There are twenty titles in the opening sequence. In the opening sequence, the images that are prioritized are skeletons. The opening continues to zoom into the skeleton, expressing a close up almost every time. The connotation the images carry are negative. As seen in the opening, the skeleton is constantly being killed. After the title is shown, the camera begins to descend until it is at a low angle. From there, a steel beam comes down onto the camera in a point of view shot of the skeleton. Then, a close up is shown of the skeleton with the metal beam through its skull. The horror genre is reinforced through the constant use of extremely fast transitions from one scene to another along with the constant gore of the opening sequence. The film establishes an enigma when it shows the first death in the sequence. This death along with every other death leaves the audience guessing. The strategies used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience are the constant uses of zooms, pans, tilts, along with dim lighting, bright lighting, and eerie music. The technology was used effectively through the constant camera angles, allowing the opening to be scarier. For example, within the first 10 seconds of the opening, a beam is hitting the audience through the POV of the skeleton. Other Camera angles include: Close-ups, high angles, medium shots, extreme close-ups, pans, tilts, flash pans, flash tilts, and zoom-ins.

Title Research: “Dead Silence (2007)”

My group and I watched the title sequence of, “Dead Silence” (2007) from the Art of the Title website. There are twenty-three titles displayed in the opening sequence. Images that are prioritized are images of the creepy doll the older women are creating. All the sketches, drawings, and pictures are all shown while she creates her “perfect doll”. Connotation images used to carry throughout the movie are the images of the doll being made along with the scary music because it makes the audience question, what is wrong with that doll and what will happen with the doll? Horror is reinforced in this opening sequence through symbolic and technical codes from the outset because of the dark lighting, the strange angles of the creepy doll, and the dark red titles. The film establishes an enigma from the outset by showing a woman putting a creepy doll together. The strategies used to ensure the target audience is eerie music, dark lighting, candles, creepy drawings, tools, and worst of all, the scary ventriloquist doll. The technology has been used effectively because from the establishing spot, wide shots, high angles, dutch angle, long shots, point of view, pan, extreme close up, zoom, cross-cutting, shot/reverse shot, jump cuts, and fade out. 

Title Research: “American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014)”

    My group and I watched the title sequence of, “American Horror Story: Freak Show” (2014) from the Art of the Title website. There are 14 titles displayed during the opening sequences of the film. The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are the movie scenes in order. The first image is the production the film used and the following titles are the actors or people names who helped create the film, with a scary carnival. The images carry a negative connotation by making the audience feel weird and spooked. The genre, horror, was reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset, they are the animations from the strange-looking humans, the way the clowns look, and creepy circus props. The film establishes an enigma from the outset by giving the strange images that make the audience feel a certain way. The strategies that are used to ensure the film appeals to the target audience by creating mysterious and weird images. The technology has been used effectively due to the use of stop-motion and CGI sequences. There are establishing shots, wide shots, high/low angles, slow and fast transitions, point of view, handheld, action matches, and carnival-infused themes for sound.

Watch the Titles Website

This is the homepage of the website: www.watchthetitles.com

My group and I are researching another website, “Watch the Titles”. It is dedicated to the art of title design and its creators. Started in 2006, the recently renewed website features a growing collection of over 200 title sequences and behind-the-scenes content. It offers a glimpse into the people, ideas and processes behind their film. This website has many features that made browsing through the website easier. They have interviews with directors and those who can explain the movie and how it was made. Those same people are the ones who experienced the film. It is important to understand what all of this means and what the significance is throughout the film. These are guidelines for the audience and for people who need their own guides in making their own movie sequences. This is a good website for us to see examples of creating and editing a film’s titles, just by seeing other examples of people's movie sequences benefits. This website also has interviews, feature films, TV shows, event titles, examples of student projects, video game sequences, and even other features to make people understand how to properly edit. It is very helpful. With all of their options, all you do is click the feature and a list of sequences pop up. There are plenty of title sequence examples for each genre. Not to mention, each of them is around 2 minutes. For ours, we watched a couple to help us make the titles look scary and creepy appear on the screen like theirs.

Art of the Title Website

This is the homepage of the website: www.artofthetitle.com

My group and I are researching the website, “Art of the Title”. It is an online publication dedicated to title sequence design, television, movies, and video game industries. The website is both an educational and historical resource and a contemporary publication, focusing on the creative process behind the design of title sequences. We want to know why certain names come before and after others. Luckily, this website has many features and ways to learn all about title sequences. The sequences are separated by designers and studios. They are also separated by genres. If you are looking for your genre, they have an entire section just for that. Along with that, the title sequences from a range of old to new movies. Each of them is around 2 minutes. So, in order to make your own title sequence, you need to know how titles and the sequence are made. For the titles in our final task, we were planning to design the titles to match the genre, horror. Before researching this website, we planned to make the titles look scary and creepy appear on the screen. This website will help us understand the different designs for titles sequences, due to all the good examples of popular horror film sequences. This will guide our group into making a good title sequence for the final task.

Genre Research "Doctor Sleep"

C.A.M.S: Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots-
A common shot used in Doctor Sleep is establishing shot. Possibly, this shot was mostly used due to the fact that Doctor Sleep is a spin-off of the movie The Shining. Being the case, the director may want the viewers to recall locations from The Shining by using establishing shots. Wide Shot, High Angles, Tracking Shots, Medium Long Shot, Extreme Close Up, Twp Shot, Three Shot and Close Up.

C.L.A.M.P.S-
Costumes: Jack's signature maroon cord jacket, Grady twin gowns, Rose’s top hat, and baseball outfit. For the majority, the actors were wearing casual clothing.
Lighting: Dim and Dark Lighting to set an ominous, creepy tone.
Actors: The actors all have superpowers and are all supernatural beings.
Makeup: light makeup, blood, and scars
Props: Rose’s hat, baseball glove, and RV
Setting: Rehab Room, Apartment, Overlook Hotel

Editing-
Cross-cutting from scene to scene to highlight the character’s powers was a helpful editing technique in Doctor Sleep. Cutaways and inserts were common in the movie to dramatize scenes. Fade out and fade ins were also common.

Common Sound- Diegetic sounds, Non-Diegetic sound, Ambient Music, Incidental Music, and Scores.

Elements We Liked & Disliked-

Elements which we liked were the jump scares and the scenes where the characters would fly around the globe. We also liked the shootout scene in the forest because we believed that it was a great way to incorporate action in a horror film.

Elements which we disliked was how graphic the murder scenes were.

Genre Research "American Psycho"

Our group researched, watched, and analyzed the horror film, American Psycho. This movie is about Patrick Batesman who is a wealthy, well educated 27 years old. The thing about him is that he lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. He hides his psychopathic ego from his co-workers, friends, and family. Soon it begins to unravel as the next victim becomes Paul Allen. Soon Patrick Bateman is going to hit rock bottom with his OCD thoughts of murder.

Common Camera Angles:
The extreme close-ups are used obviously to emphasize on specific details that the directors wants us to see like Bateman’s face and expressions opening a window to his mind or Allen’s body to shows that he is for sure dead, or the case of the pill shot to let the audience know that Patrick is under a pill treatment. The other shots are used depending on the importance of Allen to appear on the shot or not because when Bateman is making the most insightful pint of his speech is not necessary to see Allen. And finally, the angles used are very obvious, mostly high angles for Paul to make the audience feel that he is weak and fragile and low angles for Bateman to show his authority and power.

CLAMPS:
The costume was Patrick's usual suit and tie that never seems to change as much.
In the living room, the lighting is soft but bright. In the bathroom, the lighting is dark and weary when he enters. The makeup being used was the fake blood on Allen and cuts.
The prop was the knife that Patrick Batesman used to kill Allen at the time. This scene is set in Patrick Bateman’s apartment in two places, the living room, and the bathroom. In the living room, we see that everything is mostly black and white, the walls and the pictures on it with a sense of OCD as everything is set perfectly. Nothing out of order. In the living room, we see that all the furniture is covered with white blankets. In the place where Allen has seated the floor is covered with newspapers as his grave.

Common Sounds in the movie are creepy and eerie music, along with the sound of Freddy Krueger scratching his claws throughout the movie.

Common Editing used was jump cuts, cutaway, eye-line match, fade, and cuts.

Elements of The Genre are the dark, creepy, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, jump scares, suspense (anticipation), spooky music and blood and gore.

Elements That I Like were the jump scares, spooky music, and the suspense throughout the movie.

Elements That Did Not Appeal To Me were the overacting, the dark because I could not see exactly everything, and the disfigurement was really gross and had a lot of gore.

Genre Research "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

Common Camera Angles used in the movie were close ups, medium close ups, and extreme close ups. Also some movements and shots used were zoom, tracking shots and panning shots.

CLAMPS in the movie are below:
Costumes that were used were 80’s casual clothing since that is when the movie is taking place. So clothes such as leather jackets, button up shirts, letterman jackets, jeans, and long skirts. The lighting is very dark for most of the movie and has a reappearing blue and red tint color to it sort of representing danger in a way. The actors actions are very naive and childish considering the main characters are young and in highschool, but all of the adults are also ignorant because they don’t believe the young kids. The makeup is very natural for the teenagers and the hair is short and big for the girls, but gelled and swooped back for the boys. Although the makeup for Freddy Krueger is as if his skin has been melted away or burned by fire. Props used are Glens pocket knife, Freddy’s claw fingers, stay awake medication, and all of the items in the house. The settings of the movie were in houses, in jail and in school.

Common Sounds in the movie are creepy and eerie music, along with the sound of Freddy Krueger scratching his claws throughout the movie.

Common Editing used was jump cuts, cutaway, eyeline match, fade and cuts.

Elements of The Genre are the dark, creepy, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, jump scares, suspense (anticipation), spooky music and blood and gore.

Elements That I Like were the jump scares, spooky music and the suspense throughout the movie.

Elements That Did Not Appeal To Me were the over acting, the dark because I could not see exactly everything, and the disfigurement was really gross and had a lot of gore.

Genre Research "Countdown"

Our group researched, watched, and analyzed the horror film, "Countdown". It is a film about an app that tells you your exact time of death. The common camera angles are: Over the shoulder, Point of view, and Tracking shots.

The costumes used in the movie are: The Nursing clothing the protagonist and side characters wear, the robe the main antagonist wears, and the casual everyday clothing everybody else wears. One common lighting is the dim lighting used in the "scary" scenes. Another lighting used is the bright lighting used in the beginning of the movie. The protagonist of the movie is naive as she is told the app tells one when they will die and she chooses to download it anyway. The makeup for most characters is natural makeup as they look like normal, everyday people. The angel of death has yellow eyes and its face is covered. The setting is: The hospital, the Tech store, and Quinn's mom's house.

Common sound in the movie include: The diegetic sound when the characters are running, non-diegetic sound with the noises the monster makes, and dialogue when the characters are talking. Other common sounds are: the sound bridge when changing scenes, and a scary score.

Common editing in the movie include: Cross cutting between places, cutaway from the horror to another scene, insert into the computer, and a shot-reverse-shot between characters, for example, Quinn and Matt.

Generally, the common elements of horror are the fear of death, the dark, and fear of the unusual. My group and I enjoyed this horror film because it exhibited all requirements to become an excellent horror film; as it continued to keep us guessing.

However, the elements of the genre that do not appeal to us were the constant jump scares that eventually became repetitive and predicable.

Genre Research "The Final Decision"

    Based on all of our genre research, my group and I decided the final task is going to be horror. In our recent group discussions, we eliminated the choices of musical, comedy, and action genres. This is because we all don't like it and it would've been difficult to create a film following those common elements. With those eliminations being set, my group and I narrowed the rest of the genres down to action and horror. After extensive research, we chose horror because it would be easier to create a film following the common horror elements, which are stated in the previous blog. Also, it is fun to capture the audience's imagination and be able to terrify them towards the ending of our film. As strange as it sounds, people usually find more of thrill in being scared or watching a film up to the point of a cliffhanger.

Genre Research Action And Horror

1.) Genre Researched: Action/ Action-Adventure-
My teammates and I researched the genre action, also referred to as “action-adventure.” By definition, action film is the constant slam-bang of fights, chases, explosions, and clever one-liners.

C.A.M. (Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots)-
The common camera angles and shots are wide angle, establishing shot, long shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up, two-shot, and over-the-shoulder. The common camera movements are dolly zoom or vertigo shot and a single take shot.

Mise-En-Scene C.L.A.M.P.S-
Costume: The costumes within the genre of action tend to be superhero or villain themed. Usually, superhero costumes wear dark, sombre, clothing. The dark clothing symbolizes danger.
Lighting: Dim lighting is often used in action films due to the nature of the film. Towards the end where the resolution of the plot appears bright lighting is often seen; this symbolizes a better future.
Actors: The good guys/ protagonists are usually men who are brawny, strong and confident. On the other hand, the antagonist/ villain is usually the same, however, they are malicious.
Makeup: Typical makeup used in action films are bruises, cuts, blood, and sweat.
Props: Getaway cars, knives, guns, bombs, big vehicles, helicopters, and planes.
Setting: Common locations are places that are very populated such as urban areas, and popular countries such as America and England. By using popular places, the producer is able to attract an audience through familiarity.

Editing-
Cross cutting, jump cut, cutaway editing, establishing shot, eyeline match, fade to black, and straight cuts.

Elements of Action Genre-
The common elements are Character, Plot, Conflict, Resolution, Structure, Scenes, Dialogue, Visuals.

Examples of Action Films-

Common Sound Effects-
Crowds, War sounds, Vehicles (skitting), Trains, Static sounds, Explosions, Sirens, Guns, Screams, and Monster sounds.

Elements We Like/Dislike-
This genre is liked because we like impressive fight scenes with special effect explosions. The elements of this genre that do not appeal to us are the lack of plot line and character development.

2.) Genre Researched: Horror-
Additionally, my group and I genre researched horror. A horror film is a film that seeks to elicit fear for entertainment purposes.

C.A.M. (Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots)-
The common camera angles and shots are high angles, close up, tracking or panning shot, reverse, tilted angle, (extreme)long shot, low angles, hand held shot, point of view shot, zoom, and over the shoulder shot. The common camera movements are dolly zoom or vertigo shot and a single take shot.

Mise-En-Scene C.L.A.M.P.S-
The common Mis En Scene for horror films are listed below:
Costumes: tend to be scary or bloody
Lighting: is gloomy, silhouette lighting, harsh lighting, and dark
Actors: are usually young and very naive
Makeup: is white or pale skin, and dark under the eyes. There would be fake blood or stitches over the body
Props: are typically knives, guns, fake blood, television, baby carriage, doll, chainsaw, video camera, ouija board, and masks.
Settings: are haunted houses, cabin, hotel, hospitals, asylums, graveyards/cemetery, schools, carnivals, and woods.

Editing-  Cross cutting, jump cut, cutaway editing, establishing shot, eyeline match, fade to black, and straight cuts.

Elements of Horror Genre-
The common elements are fear of death, the dark, creepy and crawly things, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, suspense (anticipation and expectations), spooky music.

Examples of Horror Films-

Common Sound Effects-
Ghosts, monsters, witches, screams, evil laughter, heartbeat, creaks, howls, chainsaw, splats, and wind blowing.

Elements We Like/Dislike-
This genre is liked because it shows fears while making the audience still give off feelings of anticipation. The elements of this genre that do not appeal to us are the jumpscares, gory scenes, and when you know what is going to happen next.

Past Genre Research Blog

    At the beginning of my AICE Media Studies course, my teacher assigned my group mates and I a genre project, shown above. A list of movie genres such as Horror, Musical, Action, and Comedy was randomized and handed out to each group. Evidently, my group was assigned with the genre Comedy. Including myself, there were four people within my group. We were tasked with researching the norms and conventions of Comedy: common sounds, lighting, movements, angles, and mis-en-scene. Additionally, we inserted picture examples of comedic films, naming some elements of comedy and breaking down the elements which we liked and disliked. This project familiarized us with the filming techniques of the Comedy genre. If we were to do a Comedy film for our final task, we would have an advantage being that we already have background research and knowledge surrounding the genre.

The Winning Pitch

For our first pitch, the girls will be walking down the street and playing with a ball in the evening, which will roll in an abandoned house. They look and see something in the window, which makes them run away and head back to the house, they talk about the figure they saw and go to sleep. The following day, one of the girls convinces the two other girls to go back to the abandoned house; they go inside to find the ball, along with creepy details embroidered around the house. One of the girls walk off to record the back of the house, but the ghost is waiting there; he possesses her and she screams in fear. Soon after, the other girls come running after her and question if she’s okay, but the possessed girl says yes and acts normal. Later, the possessed girl has a weapon in her hand and one of the girls notices and this is where the final scene will cut. The second pitch is our serial killer idea, this pitch will have the protagonists walking down the street and having fun. Then, from an over the shoulder shot, a man will be watching the group from a distance and the group will continue to walk and the man will continue to follow. One of the members of the group would spot the man and inform her friends. The friends become scare, then start to run and arrive at one of their friends house. The friends become comfortable again, but then again, from an over the shoulder shot, the man is watching the group through the window. The final scene will be the serial killer getting stabbed, then the audience will see a low angle of the killers hand moving.

The first pitch is a good idea to do for our final project because it is more planned out. Immediately after the idea came up of making a film involving a ghost creativity flew in the air. Anyeska and Jazmin started to discuss how the scene would begin, escalate and end. Later they discussed to the other group mates what they had came up with. Lesly and Britania added ideas of their own as well. One of the reasons we knew right away this was a good idea was because of the location. Already we had an idea where the haunted house would be and how we would decorate it. Anyeska soon told us the perfect place that had an abandoned house we would be able to use. Locations, props, makeup, camera angles and scripts are already being taken care of. We also thought this would be a better decision because Lesly will be able to film us and make our ideas come to real life. Finally, we wanted to make a film that would engage the audience and make them remember this film. We want them to wonder what will happen next.

The second pitch is not a good idea because the scenes we would film would be very repetitive. The serial killer is basically a stalker who follows these girls. There is nothing special or new about this concept. We wanted to go outside the box and think of something better. To add on, we wouldn’t have that many places to film. The only two places would be the park and the home of one of the girls. Scary movies are much better than these slasher type films. Also, it would be very hard to end the intro with a cliffhanger. As we explained in the first paragraph our end scene for our second pitch was for the serial killer to move his hand. This has already been done with movies like Halloween where they think the main killer is dead, but he never is. Another thing is having someone to film us. Since Lesly is playing the ghost from pitch one, he doesn’t need to be in that many scenes. So he is able to film us, if we did pitch two we would have to ask someone else to film and it would not be guaranteed they would fulfill our vision. 

    

    In the end, we all have decided to do the first pitch because we all love the idea. This pitch is the one that stuck out the most to us because we spent so much time on it. From the location to the final scene. The few months we have to work on this project will be used wisely and efficiently. Making sure we make the creepiest and unsettling intro we can. Adding special effects and eerie sounds, that we wouldn’t have been able to add in the serial killer film. Our group even came up with a name already. We already know each detail and angle that is going to take place. Pitch one is definitely the best choice and even though some things might get changed along the way. All four of us are determined to do the best we can for our viewers and teachers.