Audience and Institutions Essay

 Question 4: The Importance of Funds     

When creating a film funding is incredibly important to think about. You need to make sure that you have enough money to create the film and allow it to be shown at its best. Funding can change everything from script actors and even the entire film sometimes. You may just not have enough funds to create your film and you might have to change. Money is the basis most movies run around but even still you can make a great movie with little to no funds. If your trying to make a little video or film, it’s you won’t need an insane amount of funds. If it’s a little project you want to work on not many funding is required.

                For most movies’ funds are crucial to how things are run. If you want Tom Brady, Robert Downey Jr and Keanu Reeves in your passion project movie then it will cost you. Not everyone is willing to act in your film you need money to make that happen. For example, Marvels newest movies made (Infinity War) 2.048 and 2.798 (Endgame) billion dollars. One thing that led to this movie’s success is their editing and cast and that was all possible through their budget. They had a budget of 365 million with endgame and 316 million with infinity war and it shows. They had high quality edits, and special effects while also having some of the most popular actors at hand. It would not have been possible if they did not put so much money into this project. If a mere third of the money they used for that movie was used to create the exact same movie you would notice some differences in all forms of filming. Another example of this is Harry Potter a movie that needed to stand up for the high standard the book set up for it. But in order to make the movie as great as the book they need an incredible amount of funds to do so. They had a high budget of 130 million on their first movie with it increasing as they got more popular. This shows as popularity or hype for movie increases there is a bar set for you that you must climb. This task is achieved by funding with great editing cast and mis en scene this movie was amazing and made a great deal of money. In total, the film earned $974.8 million at the worldwide box office, $317.6 million of that in the US and $657.2 million elsewhere. What this shows if you want success for your movie you want a high budget with a lot of money. Showing that funding is incredibly important in the process of making movies. But that’s only movies.

                Funding as important as it is in movies it is not nearly as important when it comes to small films. Little short films and animations do not need as much filming. Funds don’t impact the way these things come out. They usually are distributed on YouTube or some type website where you can post and share videos, so they don’t need advertisement. And they aren’t the flashiest videos they don’t require a 1million dollar budget more like 100 or less. For example, Disney’s originally crated short film bao was nice and short but still left a place in my heart. While not as popular it taught me something about letting things go it was cute and funny. Short films aren’t really shooting to be the most popular thing in the world. They try and send you a message and leave a special place in your heart funding isn’t something that is super important they don’t need advertisement the people who see it and like it will do fine. They don’t need actors they have friends who can help pitch in. Another example of this is animations. The little animations created on YouTube get quite popular even though their created by people who stay at home. It doesn’t cost them a dollar just time. For example a little short animation made by SuperBrankman gives a short and funny animation. It accumulated 4million views in a short amount of time. With a small cast of actors, they don’t need much of a budget. What these examples are saying is that while funding is incredibly important in some circumstances it is not needed at all or is barely required. Even if you have lots of funds it doesn’t mean your movie will come out good.  The emoji movie was a terrible movie that left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth with 7% rotten tomatoes. It had a budget of 50 million but was nothing in comparison to rocky with a budget of 1 million and a 94% on rotten tomatoes. While funding greatly impacts a movie it does not make it.

                In the end funding and having a good budget is still important to making a film but only in certain circumstances. It is needed more when your trying to make a movie but isn’t necessary for success. It just increases the chances of doing so. When creating a short film or animation with the help of friends what does that cost you nothing. Short films are created using a little amount of money but still are incredibly impactful they provide stories and themes that you remember. So, in the end funding is important to how things happen/how its created but even so don’t make the film. With movies it is greatly needed and can change everything, and with short films they don’t have much impact and only contribute to little things. But even still having lots of funds does not mean good movie.

Extract Blog

Our extract was a 3-minute clip of the movie 24. In it the author uses a pretty shady interrogation to portray his theme. His theme was that violence is not the answer and its best to solve things in order. Using violence makes you just as bad as them. This is better represented by the editing, camera usage, sound, and Mis en scene of the movie. These techniques help make the theme clearer and helps develop theme. I will explain these techniques and the way they are used as they are presented chronologically in the movie due to there being one scene.

                All of these happen near the beginning or right as it starts continuing throughout the rest of the extract. Firstly, this theme is supported by their dialogue which is the first we hear. The way they speak to each other is strange as he walks in with a very hostile tone. Even so she keeps calm and doesn’t crack under pressure though he’s yelling and screaming at her. This shows that no matter how violent you are it is not the way to solve things he got nothing from screaming and got nowhere. Next thing you see is the use of no tripod the camera is shaking. What this does is reflect his anger and the tension through the camera’s movements. This develops the fact that he truly is violent and angry showing that things get really heated and as he gets angry the camera starts shaking. But even though nothing was gained. At the same time this is happening you here the score. The score gives off the feeling of tension between the two. It helps you see the disconnect between this two showing his anger through the use of eerie tone while also being quiet and calm like her. This disconnect helps show how the tension builds and how throughout all his attempts nothing worked. With the ending of the score sounding very low in bass showing that his actions were wrong. At the same time, you also see the actors. The way that he shows his emotions using speech and facial expressions shows his anger and violent intent. But even with all the pressure put onto her nothing happened. All of these happen near the beginning and show that through the use of emotion what he did was wrong and wasn’t the way to approach the situation.

                Throughout the actual footage that we were shown a lot of things happened. All of these are events that occur presented in chronological order. First thing that happens is the flipping of the table. The use of this prop shows his anger. The way he flips it over and the way it bangs on the ground shows how mad he was. Now this approach to interrogating is a very violent approach in which nothing was gained. This develops the idea that no matter how violent you are not everything can be solved that way. Next that happens is a crosscut showing the people outside and how surprised they are and uneasy about what just happened. The woman looks panicked while the man looks concerned. This builds off the fact that this isn’t the usual approach and isn’t what they wanted. By the way they acted it can be said that what he’s doing is morally wrong. This builds off the fact that you are just as bad as them if you solve manners through violence. Next, he pushes her against a wall which gives us a high angle of what’s happening. This angle is like a metaphor saying that this is the peak and the extent that he goes will go to for justice. This develops the idea that he doesn’t hold morals to heart and will do anything to get what he wants even violence. Especially when compared to the scene where he’s choking her. His violence did nothing no matter what lengths he took. And lastly it shows the reaction of those watching outside with a split away shot. This shot shows their panic and them running to her assistance. This shows that what he did was wrong with people rushing to stop the situation. Which develops the idea that this shouldn’t be the way to solve problems a nonviolent approach is best. All of these points use the events and actions taken as ways to help the theme. Showing that being incredibly violent gets you no where but in trouble as in the end he was taken away and ended the interrogation all it did was set them back.

                All the use of camera angles which are high angles, and the use of no tripod. The use of editing is cross cuts and split away. The use of sound is dialogue and score. And the use of mis-en-scene is props and actors. The use of all these techniques help develop one theme that violence is not then answer and its best to settle things through peace. They each show that no matter how violent and angry he was nothing was accomplished. Instead all his violent approach did was set them back now they have less time and he’s going to be int trouble with higher ups for laying hands on the suspect. It got them nowhere. All of this shows that the theme is definitely this or is closely related to this.

               

CCR Blog

This my CCR for my Aice Media Studies final project. It will be submitted to canvas and will provide a significant amount of points to my final project. With this being my final project and all I was kind of concerned with the corona virus thing but luckily everything played out pretty well. We got to edit and re-shoot our video while also returning home safely to our families. I was kind of anxious about doing my CCR since its the first time we had to record it. I am a bit camera shy and I also wasn't prepared for such a drastic change. Our CCR's are normally typed and I thought it was weird that our last one has to be a recorded and edited video. I understand my video may not be the greatest in looks but I answer the question to the best of my ability. I also showed off part of my film. And showed off all of my storyboard these were time crunches but were also because I needed to show rather then just tell. And even though the process was kind of weird I think it helped me as a planner and as an editor since this is the one time I have edited things on my own. Usually we have Kyle do most of the editing while we either sit and watch or relax. Sometimes we do help edit a bit but we don't contribute to editing as much as Kyle. I think my CCR did what it needed to do but also could have been alot fancier if I put more time into it but with Corona and everything happening right now this was the least of my worried. I had to help a lot around the house while also being tasked with shopping. But after everything that has happened i'm happy that I got to enjoy Aice Media studies with all these wonderful people.

Final Project Blog

This is our final project that we completed last quarter. This is a 2 minute opening to an original film.Our opening follows a crazy boy who is obsessed with superheroes. This obsession leads to him going off the edge and killing his mother. After our opening cuts off the story goes even crazier, as a full police chase breaks out. I was in charge of planning I made a 12 page storyboard going into full detail of what was happening. Before we actually started recording we did some research on thrillers. We found out about common tropes and setting changes. Carter came up with the idea, and we all liked it. I helped out the most with the storyboard. Jake would be the main character and we'd be back at his house. Kyle did most of the editing. He did a great job creating an eerie feeling. Without his experience our video wouldn't be twice as good. This project really showed off all the skills we learned through out the year and i'm proud to work with such nice people.

Music Video Blog

This our original music video that we were tasked with creating in the second quarter of our school year. I didn't get to participate with recording but I was tasked with planning. The lead character was Jake who loses his dog after neglecting him. We decided on Gary Come home since we needed a sad song that related to our topic. The song we chose is about how Sponge bob loses his snail Gary after neglected him. Playing games instead of paying attention we wanted that approach but more realistic and heartbreaking. I did the storyboard and planning. I had to make sure all the shots were possible and we needed a dog so I decided that we'd shoot at Jake's house. It was perfect since we were all acquaintances with Jake's dog. This would make it so getting the dog to cooperate with us would be a lot easier. The video starts with everything being nice and him bonding with his dog until he slowly forgets about the dog leaving it to be alone. With no signs of recognition the dog leaves to go live a better life. The owner then notices his dog is gone and is in search. Eager to see him again he goes outside and posts pictures. Luckily a kind women finds his dog and they reunite for a happy ending. I enjoyed everything about even though I didn't participate with recording this was the best one we made that year.

Commercial Blog

This is our own original commercial that we were tasked with make near the beginning of the year. At this time my group and I weren't the best but weren't the worse when it came to making video. Kyle and I had already done TV production where we made and edited films and we took a step up with Media Studies. We were given a set amount of topics it could be on and we chose Gatorade. Our commercial was a Gatorade advertisement for their new drink. We decided that it had to be sports related since Gatorade is usually associated with sports. Our school had a track field so we decided our commercial would be a race. I did the planning where I thought of props we had to use, the setting and, the clothing we would wear. I also created a detailed storyboard that helped guide us through our production process. When we got to recording we noticed that there was something wrong with our Tripod it was missing the piece that allowed us to tighten and since we couldn't get another given our time limit we were forced to record with no tripod. And on top of that before we started recording my camera died. Luckily I had helped out another team with their recording due to my presence not being needed by teammates I helped them .Since they were done recording I asked if they could lend us their battery and they did. My friend Jake was main director and camera man with the rest of us being actors with Sean being the lead actor. Me and Kyle were his opponents with him winning first place and being congratulated by his coach Jake. Near the end Kyle did most of the editing even though the computers were really faulty. In all I had a great time on this project and it was really fun.

Re-Editng Blog: What to do When We Get Back

       As I said before the Corona Virus created problems for everyone. We can't leave home and can't record. All we can do is wait. But we might as well us our time to do something useful. So that's what i'm going to do. I'll use my time to plan what we'll do when we get back. If the final isn't postponed though I hope it is we need to have a plan. First we'll need to contact Kyle and make sure that he can edit what we have left. We already had mostly everything recorded we just wanted to add onto to more. If Kyle has time to add titles and a voice over then we'll be gold. We just needed to create a story. If we can't contact Kyle well be in a pretty bad spot. With no one to turn in our video well fail. But this is assuming that the Corona virus disappears and we aren't able to record. If the Corona Virus continues to stay then its likely our final will be postponed. When it is we need to record as soon as we can since well likely have a week or two to makeup our time. First we should contact each other and decide on a day to record. We had already decided on what we wanted to do. Second well need to make sure well have the equipment to record our project we'll need our camera, tri pod ,and SD card. Finally we need to overlook all our footage and make sure it's ready to edit. After all our filming we can finally edit what little we have to do. we have to add titles and add our music though we haven't decided on it yet. Our music should be ominous while also creating tension. This is because our project is a thriller. With everything done we can finally be at ease that our project is finally done. remember stay safe and wash your hands.

Re-Shooting Blog:Corona Virus Delay

         Today was the day we'd finally re-shoot our final project. But due to the Corona/Covid-19 virus we are unable to. This has put our filming on hold. We have none of our equipment. No camera, no tripod, and no SD card to keep everything on. Since we don't know when well get back due to the widespread of the corona virus. We are unsure when our final is due and it has created an uproar in schools. Most schools are considering online schools since this virus is so bad that its completely stopped the gathering of people to not spread it. This virus has completely shook society as many places are under quarantined and shops are closed. With most of our fellow students stuck inside there is no way that we could possibly record or re edit our films. Since we had already recorded most of our scenes there wasn't much to record in the first place. When we get back we have to be prepared to record and make sure all our filming gets done. But we are not the only ones being hindered by the Corona virus. For example the new highly anticipated movie Fast and Furious 9. This movie was announced a week ago to be postponed all the way to April 2021. They understand that the effects of the Corona virus will make it hard if any members get sick and will put all those there at risk. The reason it is postponed for such a long time is because the Corona virus is something that scientists are unsure about. They don't know how long it will stay for they are hoping that it will disappear like the flu but must prepare for the worse. And not only movie sets are postponed with the national health organization  has called it a pandemic. So make sure to wash your hands and stay safe.

A picture of me working hard to protect from the corona virus

Editing Blog: Re-shooting Plan

     All that was left to do was to plan a bit more for re-shooting. We planned on re-shooting on Saturday. But Kyle and Jake had to go to a math competition on Saturday so we canceled. And we would have done it on Sunday but Kyle our Camera man and editor was going to be at his dads house. This was bad since he didn't have a laptop to use so he couldn't edit. Filming on Friday was out of the question since we wouldn't have enough time and din't think about that before hand. No parents were told that we were going to film and didn't plan for it. Plus my mom has work and my brother was out of town no one could have dropped me off or picked me up. As I said in my last blog we need to re due and do new scenes. Our plan was to make the video's plot clearer. So it's easier for the reader to understand whats going on. We would film this weekend at Jake's house in order to stay consistent with the footage we already have. and with most of our scenes being indoors and the one outside being good we wouldn't have to change locations at all. The only time we'd do this is encase it rains so we'll be good inside. We planned on re doing the scene with the murder. In our first video the reason for killing is incredibly unclear we need to emphasize more on why'd he'd want to kill his parents. Adding a voice over and more scenes focused on family would likely do the trick. We were only missing a couple of shots so we won't worry about it too much but it would be good to include them anyways. So its finalized we were going to record this weekend (Saturday). This will give Kyle enough time to edit. not like last time where he had to crunch time and even then we still did good. With all of our planning finally being finished all we have to do is hope for a good recording.

Editing Blog: What Changes We Need

 Our Peer Reviewer said that our video was short and needed titles which we knew. But also said that we need to add more story which is what that missing time would make up for. He said we were only missing three out of the fifteen shots which was good. Overall he said our video would get a C or C+. With that information we were ready to make changes. After we finished Peer Reviewing video we decided that we'd plan out what were going to change. We decided that we'd do our re shooting on the weekend of Saturday but with that time we'd have to do many things. The two main things we had to do was add our titles and make it a minute and 50. We couldn't accomplish these things due to time restraint. Kyle had to little of time to edit after we shot our video. We made a new storyboard while not as long or detailed we split it up into 6 sections with a total run time of 1:50. The storyboard is a rough sketch but I'll explain it. The first Box is about him wanting to become a superhero showing what he idolizes. The second is him being bullied by his mom her being cruel. Third Him taking the knife from the kitchen. Fourth creates Tension of him approaching his family. Fifth him killing his parents while they are asleep. And last the ending piece that the police coming to his front door knocking. This will surely help us with our time restraint since each piece being 10-30 minutes long. We already have most of the scenes we can just add more scenes based of the six sections that we split our video up into if one piece is lacking we add a bit more time one compared to a section that doesn't take long like section 4 Our next problem was our titles. We decided that for titles we should use a bright color like white since most of our scenes we're pretty dark. we didn't want our titles o blend in with the background we want them to be vivid and to properly show everyone contribution to our project. with all those problems accounted for our re-shooting process will be a breeze all we have to do is decide on a schedule and a couple of other things.

Rough sketch of new storyboard

Peer Review Blog: We Have Work to Do

Picture of back of Peer Review

Picture of Front of Peer Review

Tuesday came and it was time to do peer reviews. The first thing we did when we walked in was check the bored for who would be grading us. Luckily it was a friend of ours Giovanni, we asked him to not grade as harshly but we still want criticism. Our video wasn't even finished titles were missing and it was only a minute and 39 seconds. It didn't reach the requirement of 1 minute and 50 seconds. We still haven't seen our video so we went to Kyle and watched the video on our laptop. The video wasn't half bad it just needed a bit of changes in order to be finished. The group that we were going to review was Andrea's. After I watched our video I walked over and waited for them to upload their video to a USB. It took a while with them not being organized and fixing their video up a bit more but I was okay with it. When I got the USB Giovanni had already finished reviewing our video. he said that our video was short and needed titles which we knew. But also said that we need to add more story which is what that missing time would make up for. He said we were only missing three out of the fifteen shots which was good. Overall he said our video would get a C or C+. With our criticism received we then had to review a video our selves. After we had watched the video the first time we didn't understand their story it took us three times before we understood it. With us looking at every detail but even then we only slightly understood the plot. Their sound through out the video worked for half and cut off in the other. That piece of dialogue that was cut off could've been key to us understanding the plot. In all their video was pretty bad with an unclear story, bad title placement, and terrible sound quality. The one thing they did great was Mis en Scene their use of props and costumes allowed for us to slightly understand the story and were a great help. Definitely the best thing about their video. In all I'd give them a low C and even though they included titles their titles weren't placed in the right spots with black text over black background. This created problems with seeing their text. They also didn't include many of the shots required but did hit the five minute mark. With our peer review we hope they can build off of it and we can to.

Editing Blog: Editing With a Time Limit

         This week we finally finished recording now all we had to do was to edit. My teammates had already informed me that they chose the clips they wanted to use from our second shooting. I was absent from that since i was out of town due to my uncle being sick. All I could do was wait until Wednesday to edit. Unfortunate when we went their we had problems editing. Many classmates had this problem and it really slowed us down. The only thing we could do is to edit on Friday or have Kyle edit it all alone. We didn't want Kyle to edit alone since it was a lot of work adding titles and editing the entire video alone. On top of that we had a Science test on Monday giving Kyle less time to do work needing to study and all. When we arrived to class on Friday we took out multiple computers to see if our editing software would open. But alas that wasn't the case our software was having problems working. This left it all up to Kyle to do the editing. He needed to get it done before we did our Peer Reviews. This put a lot of pressure on him with him needing to rush it and get it done before next class on Tuesday. It wasn't the finished product with him not having time to do it. What we had done didn't have the titles but we didn't really get mad since the odds were stacked against him. Luckily he finished because if not we'd get bad grades for multiple blogs that will begin our first quarter. We know we're still not done since we still have re-shots and edits to do and we just needed something for the peer review anything is better then an F. I still have not yet to finish the final product but I hope what we have is nice.

Picture of Kyle Using Camera

Filming Blog: Reviewing and Pre-Editing

We decided that since we don't have much to do other then edit we just review everything one last time. Since I was in charge of planning I helped with it. My first plan of action was to compare our storyboard with our clips. Our storyboard has 9 pages of slides containing detailed information for each scene. Edits, Camera angle,props and events. If our video weren't anything like our storyboard we'd have big problems. The reason we decided to do this instead of editing was because our lead editor Kyle wasn't there. He was sick so we had to use the time that was given to us. We thoroughly compared each scene that we filmed to each scene in the storyboard their were only a couple that didn't look the same. Those were the baby scenes since we had to improvise. This was due to the lack of babies. I was suppose to be the main character and have my baby nephew be the baby in the scenes but since i wasn't their to record it created problems. The props and good working camera were in one place while the main actor was in another. In these scenes we decided not to use a baby and made the main character a teen through the entire movie it would be easier. We decided on this after we filmed so we will have to re record but for now well do with what we have. After reviewing we went over how were going to edit. The storyboard told us how we were suppose to edit scenes and we decided it would be best to follow it. With all of our filming finally done we could finally finish our film. All we have to do is edit adding effects and filters along with voice overs and well be done. I really hope editing goes well  and we have a good time with our work. It just all depends on Kyle now.

Here’s a picture of me working reviewing our footage

Filming Blog: Recording and Uploading

As Saturday came by it was finally time to record. I wasn't able to go to record so I stayed home while my teammates recorded. This was okay since I wasn't an actor I was the planner/director. I couldn't go shoot because my mom had to work when I got home. Jake couldn't pick me up since he lived decently far away and we were recording at his house. And my dad was at a funeral. With no one to pick me up all I could do is stay home and help as much as I could. I would check in and ask how the shoot is going and if they needed help. Their was one time they needed help in which they needed help with how to shoot the baby scenes. I told that since I wasn't their I can't do the baby scenes but we can substitute it. What we decided to do is have Jake act as the baby and sit off screen showing hands to make it seem as a baby is on screen. This worked pretty well and allowed us to finish the video. The next day Jake contacted me and asked me if we could go dump our footage which I did. Dumping is the same thing as uploading my footage to a computer. When we got their we were told that we could just dump next period so we left our computers their. With our job for filming almost done we decided to wait till 7th period to finish our work. 7th period came and we finally uploaded our footage to the computer. Our card number was 18 and our camera number was 14. We uploaded our footage and afterwards looked over some scene's we'd have to re shoot. At the end of the day we decided on what scenes to re do and decided well record again. I hope our project ends up looking nice.

Here's a picture of them doing the final scene

Filming Blog: Planning Preparing

Since we weren't able to record during the weekdays we decided to make sure everything was ready to go. We decided that on Friday we'd get our camera for recording and that we'd record this weekend on Saturday. In order to prepare for this Saturday we first had to review our schedule and make a couple of changes. We changed our recording date to Saturday and made sure that everyone could make. We decided it would be best to have Jake take the camera since he has a car and we'll be recording their. With our schedule in order we had to make sure everything else for our final was ready. The first thing we had to make sure we had were props. I was tasked with obtaining our props for this Friday. Tomorrow i'm going to Target to obtain the toys and the gavel for our scene with the kid and the scenes at the court room. I first had to make sure I could have someone drive me their so I can get them for me. So I  decide to call up my Dad and scheduled for him to pick me up after school tomorrow so I can get my props. The next thing we had to do was obtain the costumes. We needed a orange jumpsuit since we already had the suit and tie for the father and we'd have Jake's mom act as the mother. I would go to Target to also obtain them to save a long trip from place to place. Of course my dad will be taking me since he's available. The last problem we had was somehow getting the baby scenes. I had already slightly planned out what I was going to do but I wasn't sure if it'd work. I would have my baby nephew who is two years play with some toys while I record. And for the scenes where hes crying I could wait for him to cry and bring to my room to get the next scene. The only scary part about doing so is that it will be hard for him to listen. My sister said that she would help as long as I find a way to keep him under control. Which I did I told her that whenever he does good he can have some candy and play with my glow in the dark mouse which he loves. This gives him incentive to do so. Now that we have everything prepared we're finally prepared for Saturday.

Here is a picture of my teammate researching where we can get our props

Planning Blog: Storyboard

This is our storyboard for our final project for AICE Media Studies.This contains a thorough detailed summary of each scene showing whats suppose to happen in this scene. Accompanied with drawings of each events that happens in each scene. It shows the props, Digetic and non-digetic sounds and all of the angles and edits in the scene. Gives each and every one of these in detail showing what is happening to the sound or where its coming from. Or by showing what the props are and what happens to them. Also goes over the specific types of edits that are needed to be used and how to. This storyboard will be used as our guide when we are making our video. With its great amount of detail even showing the settings of each location it will make our jobs incredibly easy. Without this storyboard we'd be incredibly unorganized and during recording that would be a great problem.It will be a great help.


        

Planning Blog: Title Design

      This is the plan for the Title Design I have so far. We will follow this plan as closely as possible but I will most likely add some changes. In my opinion, I cannot decide how to make them without having seen a finished short film first. However, I think these ideas will be able to stand up well. As shown I haven't gone super crazy with the ideas. I am also using the classic text you would see in a thriller. One of the few things we will need to alter is the Font spacing, as I haven't figured out what I want it to look like for sure yet. I am also unsure if I will stick to one font the entire time or have 2 or 3. I think the ones I chose at the end will make it in though. I am excited to see the final result and how the titles work in the film.

Planning Blog: Location, Sound, Participants, Health and Safety, and Schedule

This is the planing for our filming. We will follow this plan as closely as possible. However some things might need to be changed if we need to change the plans, or if we change a scene or two. However I think this plan will be able to stand up well. As stated in the plan, we will try to be very safe throughout the creation process. This movie is going to be a long process, and we are looking forward to completing it. One of the few things we will need to alter is the font, as we haven't figured out what we want it to look like for sure yet. The roles are also finalized, but we may need more people for actors. We also don't know who is going to play what role at the current moment. It is going to be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to doing it.

Planning Blog: Sound Script

The PowerPoint below contains my group's sound script. This PowerPoint will cover all the Diegetic, Non-Diegetic, and silent moments of the first two minutes of our film. For each scene there is a title that corresponds to the same scene in our shooting script. All the events that are going to occur in our movie are in chronological time except for scene one that occurs in the future. The first scene is meant to be the lead up to the events of the film and will explain who is conducting the voice overs. All the scenes after the first one is meant to be flashbacks narrated by the convict. We be using an old Batman cartoon clip in several places, as well as silence to help built the tension. All our scene’s sounds are gone over in detail, and the music will play in the background. Now that we have both our shooting and sound scripts done, we are that much closer to making our own movie. Overall, we are all looking forward to making this movie and we hope that you will enjoy.

Planning Blog: Shooting Script

The PowerPoint below contains my groups shooting script. This PowerPoint will cover everything up to Angles,Movements,Edits, and events that occur in the movie. For each scene their is a title that slightly summarizes whats going just to give a taste of what happens in each scene. Also for each scene the setting for what events are happening is shown. I also included all the events in chronological order with an exception of the beginning. The beginning is what is currently happening with the scenes ahead being a flashback leading to the characters arrest. All the events are gone over in chronological order as shown from top to bottom. All scenes are gone over in detail from the growing of the main character to the murder of the parents which occurs off screen. This power point completely goes over everything that is to happen in the first 2 minutes of our final exam movie. Now that we have our shooting script done we must go over the Sound script of our movie.

Title Research: Se7en

-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences of the film?

There are 27 titles displayed in the opening sequence to the film.

-What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

Images are all crime related, they are prioritized to be crime documents, and things that look suspicious. There are flashing images back and forth to show the images are being done in quick succession.

-What connotations do the images carry?

The images have a negative connotation, like the person is rushing through the documents. They make you feel some suspense and haste in the actions of the title sequence.

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

The thriller genre is reinforced by leaving a suspenseful impact, as it shows quick writing, crossing out of documents, and flashing names giving a 70's vibe. It is made to look old, with brown and black images giving it a grim feel. The actions in the title look like they are doing an something which has a consequence.

-How does film establish an enigma from the outset?

By only giving us flashing images of writing, tearing out papers, and crossing out names and faces we can understand that something mysterious is going on. It shows the seriousness of the situation and importance, with the quick scenes and the shaky camera work. It makes the viewer interested in what the movie will be like.

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

Strategies that work on the viewer, are things like mystery. You can see that there is something the person is trying to hide, and the rushed scenes tell is this is important. This appeals to people who are interested in something that will keep them on the edge of their seat, like a thriller.

-How has technology been used effectively?

Technology has been used to give extreme close ups of documents and hand writing. Almost all angles are close ups, there are no wide shots or slow pans. All the pans and transitions are extremely quick, they don't want you to be able to think about what you are seeing. The editing techniques also fit in very well with the theme. They give shaky transitions, and flashing names to give off an "abandoned" or "secretive" vibe. They make it seem like you are right with the main character in the action and make you feel some of the rush. The editing and transitions show a little bit of a story also, by showing the process of the person creating the documents in the title sequence, it lets the viewer stay engaged.

Title Research: Split

-In this tile sequence, there are 26 titles featured in the time of 1:37.

-There are no images emphasized, however the title set includes eight short video clips.

-These images contain the connotation of a group of girls being kidnapped and potentially sexually      assaulted.  

-This genre of thriller is reinforced by the short flashes in the title scenes. This reinforces the genre        because it leaves us with questions in our head and sets up the movie.
-This movie sets up enigma by using jumpy, flashy, and time skipping scenes. This leaves us                  confused, exactly as we should be.
- This film uses bold high contrast titles and transitions is a echo way and when combined with the         jumpy video clips creates tension that you can feel, and this is what appeals to the target audience.
-The creators of the movie properly used the technology that they had at their disposal perfectly to        create a tense mood as well as a hook that captures the viewers interest. To do this they also include    low and high angles as well as a yellow hew to the shots to add suspense.

Title Research: Manhunt

- There were 7 titles total, with some of the titles listing multiple names.
-Aside from the titles, there are pictures of members of terrorist group Al-Qaeda, this is setting up the story of the movie, which will be hunting these terrorists.
-The images are shown like they are on a board, there is writing next to them. This gives the connotation that they are wanted, and being hunted down. It also makes a sense of urgency and suspense.
-The genre is reinforced through the fonts the writing is in, the titles are in bold red font. There is also intense music playing in the background,, which creates suspense. Finally the pictures and the way they are organized make it feel suspenseful as well.
-The film creates enigma by not disclosing what will happen to the people in the pictures, or necessarily what they did to be hunted.
-The creators of the movie targeted the intended audience by making the opening scene very dramatic and suspenseful. The audience I think they're targeting is men, who were affected by the events of 9/11. They might want to learn more about the group, and how they were ended by the US. They do a good job of targeting this audience by showing members of the group who may be unknown to the common viewer.
- Technology was used effectively during to construct this whole opening sequence. The whole board was done on a computer, and the titles were added during editing.

Titles Research: Get Out

Here is the research I collected on Get Outs opening titles.
-How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
Get Out contained 31 titles each showcasing a person and their job
-How images are prioritized
The images focus mainly on the story showing all the main characters living out their lives but it also contains certain subliminal messages like the main characters girlfriend looking at black donuts hinting at the plot twist
-What connotation do the images carry
The images shown show us the main characters living normal lives in which it then cuts to images of a forest and a POV of a car driving by it this creates an eerie effect taking us from normal to something abnormal not even related to what were seeing it also creates suspense since we don't know why this is happening in the first place.
 -How is the genre reinforced
The genre is reinforced by first off giving spoilers in our first scenes through symbolic actions such as the main characters girlfriend looking at chocolate donuts hinting at the plot twist of the girlfriend looking for black people who suits her and her family's needs. Also by having a kidnapping in the first scene that then cuts to people living out their normal lives which makes you question whats going on and makes you feel uneasy.
-How does the opening create enigma
The movie creates enigma by providing us with eerie images and events that occur on the begging making us question what exactly is going on. First it shows a kidnapping then a forest and then people living normal lives without any context what so ever.
-What Strategies are used to make sure the movie is appealing to the audience
They make the viewer question whats going on making them to want to watch more and more to discover how all these puzzling events come together it makes them ask questions and try to connect the dots together.
-How was technology used effectively
The camera angles make it so the kidnapping is mysterious and the POV of the forest makes the movie seem mysterious and eerie but at the same time they keep editing simple and to the point as if to throw off all the mysterious and bad things going on.

Titles Research: Art of the Title

One of the most important things about making a movie is ensuring that you get credit for your work. This is what titles are used for, giving credit where credit is due. This is a crucial step in any movie, and as a result they are in almost all movies. Art of the title is a site in which most box-office movie credit scenes are logged. Wikipedia describes it as "an online publication dedicated to title sequence design, spanning the film, television, conference, and video game industries. The publication is both an educational and historical resource and a contemporary publication, focusing on the creative process behind the design of title sequences." While this site can be used for more than just titles of movies, that is all we are planning to use it for. From this site, I learned which titles are crucial, director and editor being two examples. I also learned that each one needs to be shown at its own time and not in a group. Furthermore, I learned that the different colors and fonts are just as crucial as the background when setting up the mood of the movie. for our genre of thriller i learned that you should have a bright color for your fonts and then slowly have it fade into a dark background. By ding this you can create a jumpy mood for your watchers which can be a great hook. Through the research of this sight my group and I have learned a lot about titles. ow we must take what we learned and make a great movie..

Titles Research:Watch the Titles

My Group had the task of researching titles from varies movies in order to learn more about titles in movies.We used Watchthetitles.com in order to conduct our research since it is a cite that gives us everything we need movies to watch and titles to study. We decided it would be best to research thrillers and understand how they used their titles. Through our research we were able to learn many things. For example by watching the Heist movie we learned how to properly use titles to show story or to emphasize whats happening. We also learned how we should properly use the titles we should have them slide in and out showing different names every time but we must make each title different in its own way. I also learned which colors are mainly used for thrillers colors that are dark or if a bright beginning colors that are light but fade away darkening the color. Through our research we learned a lot of things about titles we learned how to use them where to place them and what they should look like. Now we will take what we learned and use it to better our final exam.

Picture of website

Genre Research Brightburn

My Group the Researched Brightur

Before I list them off, I must say I disliked the movie so I may have a little bias. 

Common Camera angles, movement, and shots:

-Many long shots in the movie, you can see all of these shots in the posters for the movie also. 

-A lot tilted close-ups of the protagonist's face. I guess they did this to show his expression, but they didn't need to tilt it so much.
-I didn't see any memorable shots. They were all pretty standard. 

-There were a few dolly shots used.


Mis En Scene:
-The lighting was really dark or really cloudy when they first started showing him do evil things. Before that, it was all bright light.
-No costumes other than the brightburn "superhero costume that was handmade." It was a good mix of creepy and realistic.
-Areas recorded in were the small town, houses, the school, an empty road, and a farm.
- There were many props but the most memorable was a lawnmower, the papers with his symbol, and bats.
- The movie is not really focused on a time of day.


Editing:
- In all the fight scenes there are shaky cams to help the viewer feel the pressure.
-Eye-line matches between characters and objects are pretty prominent
- There are some fades in and out of scenes.
- Lots of jump cuts everywhere.


Sound:
-Heavy use of no sound. It actually was really awkward during the scenes where brightburn was focusing on his target. They had no ambient noise and just the person yelling before they died.
- During the day, the ambient is pretty good, it was realistic enough, but I think the tones of some actors were off for their role.


Elements of the movie:
-The main plot of the movie is a boy is adopted after being found in a spaceship. Later on, when he's about 13 a powerful darkness manifests within him, and many people become scared of him. Once Brandon begins to act on his urge to use his power, he starts harming friends, family, and classmates.
-The main conflict is between the protagonist and his victims. I would say the main thing they try to do is show interesting ways people die.
-The movie tries to create a creepy tone, but many of the scenes where someone is getting attacked it feels unpolished. I think It was trying to keep the audience on the edge of their seat though..


Elements I liked:
-A lot of interesting ways people are killed.
-Really good acting on the part of the main character was able to keep me entertained.
-It was more of a "fun time" thriller than a serious one which is pretty hard to do. I thought that was the most impressive part.


Elements I disliked:
- Many plotholes that were not easy to overlook in the movie.
- Not enough of a soundtrack for me. The soundtrack and effects were almost nonexistent.
-The direction made these quick scenes take a while when most of the audience probably wanted to see horror right away.

Gere Research Equalizer

My Group also Researched a thriller movie called the Equalizer

Common Camera angles, movement, and shots:

-Many medium close up shots, and in almost every shot there were two people or three people. 

-A lot of track shots of the equalizer doing his thing. During the fight scenes there were especially many birds eye angles.
-I didn't see more than 1 or 2 establishing shots, I would have preferred to see more.


Mis En Scene:
-The lighting was really dark and I could not see a few scenes.
-Honestly it was just casual 80s attire with the most costumes being suits.
-Areas recorded in were the city, a gambling room, a restaurant, a smaller restaurant, a warehouse, and a dock for boats.
- There were too many props to actually record all but the most prominent were different types of weapons. Also many drinks and foods were eaten.
- The equalizer has like one colorful scene. The rest are all taken at night or have tons of shadows.


Editing:
- In all the fight scenes they use a ton of quick pans.
-Eye-line matches between characters and objects are pretty prominent
- There are some fades in and out of scenes.
- Some zooming in at areas.


Sound:
-Heavy use of ambient sound, usually doors opening, background chatter and busy streets.
- During fights there is music and gun shots, screams, and the footsteps are extremly loud for some reason.


Elements of the movie:
-The main plot of the movie is a depressed man believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and starts a new and quiet life. But at a waffle shop he meets a young girl being forced to work for Russian gangsters and can't stand idly by.
-The main conflict is between the equalizer and the gangsters. He goes out of his way to make sure none of them can live until he dies.
-The movie tries to create this intense tone throughout the entire movie which it does well. However I feel like I could not relax during any scene.


Elements I liked:
-A lot of interesting ways the Russian gangsters are dealt with.
-Good at building emotional relationship and makes you care for the girl that needs to be saved.
-Makes you appreciate the directors work on the interesting ways he deals with villains.


Elements I disliked:
-Literally last 40 minutes was just completely dark scenes and it was annoying to look at.
- Some of the scenes were useless, providing nothing to the movie.
-The director made the gangsters so weak, they never ever scratched the equalizer. 

Gere Research Spectral

My group also researched Spectral

Common Camera angles, movement, and shots:

-Extreme use of eye-line match shots and over the shoulder shots
-Establishing shot, wide shot, and  shot reverse shots
-A lot of low angles and pans that follow the main charter in the scene
-regular use of close ups, especially in intense or emotional scenes


Mis En Scene:
-Very grey lighting with small amounts of high contrast
-realistic looking costumes (military uniforms) and fake blood/ death marks
-European city, research labs, warehouses, helicopters, etc settings, very realistic
-A lot of cars, guns and other realistic props
-Not very colorful, very dark as well, very little natural light, until action slow down.


Editing:
-A lot of jump cuts
-Eye-line matches for the main charter are common
-Slow motion during explosions or crucial action
-occasionally uses graphic matches

Sound:
-Heavy use of background music to build the mood
-Good use of ambient sound (plasma blasts, gun shots, screams)


Elements of the movie:
-The movie follows a head engineer who is sent to a warzone to help fix the “bug with his tech”. when he arrives, he discovers the specters are real and they start killing people. The city is overrun but the ghosts can be found when exposed to specific low frequency light. Using a new form of plasma weapons, they trace the specters back to the source and discover that they are a weapon created by the government. They disrupt the neural transmissions and destroy the facility. Happy ending.                                                                                                                                                       -The main conflict is between the man protagonist and fellow team members as they battle to survive and free the city.                                                                                                                                         -The movie tries and succeeds in making everything very action packed and suspenseful.

Elements I liked:
-A lot of very intense and engaging conflicts
-Good at building emotional relationships with some characters
-Happy ending                                                                                                                  

 -when moments are confusing the movie explains in a dialog between characters

Elements I disliked:
-Some of the turns are a bit ridiculous
-Some of the plot twists were over the top
-Lighting too was dark at times

Gere Research Heist

My group decided to research heist here's what we found
Common Camera angles, movement, and shots:
-Establishing shot, crane shot that tilts down and out
-A lot of track shots and pans that follow the main charter in the scene
-Heavy use of close ups, especially in intense or emotional scenes


Mis En Scene:
-Very dark lighting
-realistic looking costumes and make up
-City. casino, warehouse, bus, hospital, etc settings, very realistic
-A lot of cars, guns and other realistic props
-Not very colorful, very dark as well, very little natural light, until action slow down.


Editing:
-A lot of jump cuts
-Eye-line matches for the main charter are common
-Slow motion during flashbacks
-occasionally uses fades
-Some graphic matches

Sound:
-Heavy use of background music to build the mood
-Good use of ambient sound (sirens, gun shots, screams)


Elements of the movie:
-The movie follows a desperate father whose daughter has cancer, and cannot afford for her surgery. He is brought an opportunity to rob the casino he works for. The heist eventually goes bad and they are forced onto a bus to make an escape. This causes a massive police chase as they try to solve their predicament.
-The main conflict is between the man protagonist and his morals, as he tries to trick those who want to ruin his journey to save his child.
-The movie tries and succeeds in making everything very action packed and suspenseful.


Elements I liked:
-A lot of very intense and engaging conflicts
-Good at building emotional relationships with some characters
-Unexpected ending


Elements I disliked:
-Some of the turns are a a bit ridiculous
- Some of the scenes were over the top
-Lighting too was dark at times

Finalizing our Gnere

My group and I researched Dramas,Thrillers, and epics. We decided to pick a thriller since it correlates with our movie idea more. Since were making a movie about someones life changing I figured it would either be a thriller or a drama. We decided on thriller since our movie will follow a boy whose life changes for the worse their won't be much fighting or arguing but more or so personal problems. Since it only involves our own character theirs not much drama to be had instead it keeps the viewers un easy about what could possibly happen to him. This is why we decided that our Final Exam would be a thriller.

Genre Research Two More Genres

My group researched two genres Epic and Thriller
Drama Research

Common Lighting: One common progression of light in epics is from dark and brooding at the beginning to happy and bright near the end. Another being the dimming of lights as the movie progresses

Common Camera Angles: Wide shots, Establishing shots ,and Bird eye views.

Common Movement: Zooms into wide shots are commonly used, and lots of tracking shots during fights.

Mis en Scene: Location: Somewhere historic or far in the past. Costume: lavish and elaborate costumes. Set Design: Usually high budget and quality.

Color Design: Tends to have a tinted or sunkissed look

Elements of Genre: Large Scale historical movies that use a lot costumes and mix in drama.

Common Sound: Tend to be extremely dramatic in order to emphasize intense scenes using loud booming sounds or fast paced music. When there is a scene where its suppose to be happy the music lightens up. And in scenes showing villains they use low pitch sounds.

Examples of Epics: Gladiator, Star Wars,  Lord of the Rings, Spartacus.

Now here is our research that we collected on Thrillers.

Common Lighting: Usually have darkness in scenes that are emotional and near the end show the sun shining bright or have some form of bright light to show how everything is good now. Most scenes don't have a lot of brightness.

Common Camera Angles: They use wide shots to show the area, if there are fight scenes they use a multitude of shots like birds eye view,medium shots, and two person shots depending on whats happening.

Common Movements: They use track shots during fights and zoom ins to show the importance of certain objects.

Mis En Scene: Costumes: tattered clothing, or dull looking clothes they don't usually use anything to special. Actors: they use people who can really create emotion in people. Makeup: they use fake tears or blood to show physical pain or emotion. Props: They use breakable props in order to not hurt anyone. Setting: Usually dark and changes ending up being light near the end.

Elements of Genre: Tend to have a lot of emotional plot points and try their hardest to evoke emotion by using things like children or characters you can relate to.

Common Sounds: Use songs that create emotion in people with things like violins or pianos. In fight scenes use up beat fight music. And they sometimes use eerie sounds to create a sense of uneasiness.

Examples of Thrillers: Glass, Crawl, The Silence of The Lambs, US

One common progression of light in epics is from dark at the start of the movie, to bright at the end. (Ex. the Hobbit )
One common progression of light in epics is from dark at the start of the movie, to bright at the end. (Ex. the Hobbit )

Genre Research PowerPoint

These are the slides from a PowerPoint my team and I did early in the year. We had to do research on the genre, Drama.We looked at many elements of the genre. We also looked into a lot of different movies in the genre. Finally we looked at common camera angles, movement, and editing. Drama is a very interesting genre that includes a lot of realistic traits. They usually involve a story line pertaining to love and romance. However, I don't know if the classification of genre would be good for our film. We want more action than is usually included in a drama.