Finalized project idea

 hihi 

I know I mentioned the main idea in another blog post but this is the finalized version of the film opening!!

Genre: horror 

A woman is seen setting up for a dinner date she is hosting at her home. it starts with her playing a vinyl record (classical music), she then starts setting up the table. The credits will be incorporated into different elements of the scene. (Ex: a cutting board being moved and revealing a credit underneath.) We will include things like candles, nice plates, rose petals etc .But every time something is set, its cuts to some quick flashback where the lighting is dark and red(the music will remain the same but will be distorted, we are also including blood splatters in some scenes. When she’s finished setting up the table she picks up the knife and touches the blade and it suddenly shifts to the last flashback. The knife is still in her hand but this time, there’s blood all over the knife, her hand, her arm, and the camera shifts to see a body on the floor. It shifts back to see the woman get a text. She puts down the knife, takes out her phone to see who has texted her, and a guy (name unknown) texted her saying “Here” and on the phone screen, you can see several other guys who have texted in the past, their last messages saying “I’m outside,” “Just got here,” etc. The woman is seen smiling menacingly at the text and the doorbell suddenly rings, the title card being shown in sync with the ring. 

Group Meeting

Hello! Its week three of working on the film opening project, and today we did something different in class. Our teacher set up group meetings, where we were put into groups of 4 and took turns sharing our ideas and showing each other our blogs. As well as giving and receiving feedback. I was put in a group with Rehan, Vicente, and Emma. 

I went first. I explained the main plot, our genre, and important details of the production. The group members really liked our idea, and they thought it was interesting. They thought the lighting details and music I want to include will really elevate the production. They did give me some feedback, they recommended I include something to symbolize all the men the main character has murdered. Or show a reason why she is a man murderer. Which I completely agree with, so I have to start brainstorming ideas with my group.

Rehan went after. I like his idea I think the genre is original. He is doing a thriller action bank robbery sequence for his opening. It may be a bit difficult to execute but I think its super interesting how hes throwing in thriller elements in a typical action sequence. We all also gave him advice on what type of music he should include and cool title ideas. 

Emma then explained her film opening. Which is also something I was not expecting, a sport drama! I honestly have never seen a sports drama but I've heard great things about movies in that genre like Rocky and Challengers. She and her other group members also want to center it around gymnastics which made me nostalgic, I loved watching gymnast movies in my childhood. She may run into some issues with having an empty gym to film in. And she wanted to cast a young girl to play the younger version of the main character, which could be complicated. But with the right execution it should go well. 

Emma was super inspired by this movie from her childhood named "full out"

Finally, Vicente shared with us his culinary drama film opening. He didn't really have a lot of details or story but he still has time to figure it out. It is definitely inspired  by The Menu and The Bear, which is good because he should try to use similar elements. Overall its not something generic which is good.

I'm honestly really glad i got to talk to my classmates because it helped change my perspective on a lot of things, and gave me motivation to make adjustments to my film opening. I think its always good to change perspectives and work with different people.  

Schedule

 Alright so here is the schedule I have set for myself to make sure everything runs smoothly. I will say I have always been an agenda person, I have no idea how others just squish everything into their heads. If its not on my weekly agenda then I will literally forget it exists... so this was easy for me. I am also grateful that I haven't developed a chronic procrastination habit like every other person in my generation. 

And yet that doesn't solve all my problems, as I am a very VERY busy person. I am super involved in my television production club. I am the only sophomore on the board (I'm vice president of fundraising!!). I'm always scheduling fundraisers and organizing carwashes and things of that sort. AND I'm also competing nationally with my tv club. Its called STN (Student Television Network). I wont bore you with the details of the competition but I practice every Saturday from 7am-5pm with my team. 

But I will make sure I stay on schedule and do not push things back, time is key for this project. 

Okok enough yap here is my schedule: 

 Schedule Timeline:

Week 1 (2/10-2/16) 

★ Write official script
★ Complete storyboard

Week 2 (2/17-2/23)  

★ Have list of mise-en-scene elements 

★ Select music that will be incorporated

★ Select filming location

★Finalize filming days and times

★Make title card and define credits

Week 3(2/24-3/2)  

★ will be at STN from February 27th to March 3rd

★ Make sure all mise-en-scene elements have been purchased/gathered

★ Start finding/making foley

★ Film (before I leave)

Week 4(3/3-3/9)  

★ Start the edit (and finish by the end of the week)

★ Start researching for question 1 of CCR 

★ Find/make any additional foley we miss (and/or any other post production elements)

Week 5(3/10-3/16) 

★ Revise any last editing elements

★ Research question 2 of CCR post

★ Research question 3 of CCR post

★ Research question 4 of CCR post

 

Week 6(3/17-3/25) 

★ Finish up any research for the reflection.

★ Create the reflection.

★ Finalize and review CCR.

The schedule is a bit tight, but I am confident everything will go according to plan. I am so grateful to have amazing project partners and I am sure that we will create something great!!

Titles

 Okay so we finally settled on a name!! I'm so exciteeedddd. But I also wanted to take this opportunity to briefly explain our plot so that my blog posts make sense. Of course when we have a fully developed story and story board I will share so that you all understand as well.

A woman is seen setting up for a dinner date she is hosting at her home; (we never see her face, just her hands and back so that it is mysterious) it starts with her playing a vinyl record (classical music), she is then and setting up the table. The credits will be incorporated into different elements of the scene. (Ex: a cutting board being moved and revealing a credit underneath.) We will include things like candles, nice plates, rose petals etc .But every time something is set, its cuts to some quick flashback where the lighting is dark and red and their is blood. When she’s finished setting up the table she picks up the knife and touches the blade and it suddenly shifts to the last flashback. The knife is still in her hand but this time, there’s blood all over the knife, her hand, her arm, and the camera shifts to see a body on the floor. It shifts back to see the woman get a text (this part may change because we aren't sure). She puts down the knife, takes out her phone to see who has texted her, and a guy (name unknown) texted her saying “Here” and on the phone screen, you can see several other guys who have texted in the past, their last messages saying “I’m outside,” “Just got here,” etc. The woman is seen smiling kinda menacingly at the text (we finally see her face) and the doorbell suddenly rings, the title card being shown in sync with the ring. 

So basically I came up with name manslaughter. But the "man" will be in bold as this woman is a man murderer (I know man slaughter is for both genders but i thought it was fitting). 

Okay now that we have set the premise here are the different fonts I'm thinking for the title card. I definitely want to do it on Canva since they also have great text animation. What I know i want for sure if for it to be loud and bold, maybe even intimidating. Bold big fonts help achieve that.

Option one: 

The font names are Gagalin and Horizon. I would love to have the "Man" be white at first and then fade into red.

Option two:

This font is norwester with a neon effect. it is more simplistic but still effective. Maybe even have the neon flicker. 

Credit Sequence Research

What’s up!! 

Today I will be analyzing three credit sequences from horror films (we have fully changed our theme to just horror, no drama). But you see, I have a love hate relationship with credit sequences. When I’m trying to watch a Disney classic like “101 Dalmatians” or “Beauty and the Beast” I feel like the credits just drag and drag and draaaaggggg. Like yes a bunch of important people worked on this film and they deserve all the credit but can’t it just wait till the end of the film!! That’s a personal opinion, but anyways I really want my titles to fit my theme and be creative, not just boring fonts. Maybe different sizes, some stretched out, some thinner. But we will see!!

#1 - Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

I like that this credit sequence introduces you to the setting of the movie without giving too much away. The slow pans over the location lets you take everything in and use context clues to figure out it is a children's party pizza place. I also noticed the accent lighting of the claw machines and disco lights, as the rest of the building is very dark. In my film opening I want to have a similar vibe. Somewhat establish the setting without giving everything away. We want to have our main character setting up a romantic fancy dinner, and we could incorporate slow pans over the table as they set the table cloth and the silverware and such. The FNAF opening also leaves a bunch of context clues to the story like the children's drawings. Even though we are just doing an opening, we want to leave "clues" like maybe a broken picture frame. (I'm getting off topic let me write about the actual credits)

I love how the font of the titles "glitch" to other colors. I want to do something like that with ours, but like mentioned earlier, have blood splatters on the text (or maybe it progressively getting redder and redder). I also like how the font matches the vibe. How its like video game pixelated because the movie is based off a video game. I like how the beginning titles fade in and out instead of just popping up. It makes it feel like less of a jump scare. And finally, I like the fact that the text appears in different parts of the screen and not just in the middle.

#2 - The Silence Of the Lambs(1991)

This movie is a bit older but still a classic horror staple. I will say I do not like the color of the titles I feel like its very aggressive and too "bold". Especially for my own film opening, but I'm sure it fits perfectly with this movie For the aesthetic of my film I want the opposite. Smaller titles maybe in one of the 4 corners. I like the consistency of all of the titles appearing in the center. I would definitely use a similar font, just a bit smaller.

#3 - Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)

I genuinely love this credit sequence. It is so engaging and foreboding at the same time. It also scares you a little with the screams, pictures, and blood. An insane amount of context to the storyline and environment in included through the use of the news reporter voice over and newspaper headings. I love how the titles are sort of incorporated with all the graphics. The only con is that its all graphics, none of it is film. But that doesn't mean we cannot be inspired from it. I love the use of the animated "doodles" I would love to include something like that in the opening. Maybe like during the "flashbacks" it can have doodles like that all over the screen. The title card is also something I would want to do similar. The scream as the red 1994 shows up is so perfect. I would love to do something similar in mine. 

Credits: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtCY-MVf3V8 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GYbDzoEwfs

Analyzing 3 drama/horror film openings

 Hello!! 

Today I will be analyzing 3 different film openings from my chosen genre, drama-horror. Hopefully this research will give me inspiration and ideas on how to make my film opening great. My group and I have sort of decided the premise of our opening which I will discuss soon.  I will admit, I don't think a lot of drama/horrors exist (most of the time its horror/mystery or horror/thriller), but that doesn't mean I can't try and create something original.

EX 1: The Shining (1980)

horror/mystery

I loved the use of very scary sounding music throughout the whole opening, even though all of the visuals are nature, and colorful and pretty. To me it gives a sense of foreshadowing. Everything in the atmosphere feels normal but something will happen soon enough. I really want to incorporate foreshadowing into my film opening. Not only by possibly leaving clues but also a bit more "disruptive" foreshadowing (when I have a clearer idea I will explain in a blog). While reading the comments of the embedded video, I came across a comment that said that the camera was "chasing the car" sort of like how the evil is reaching for the characters and I thought that was symbolic as well. What I don't like is the way the titles just fly through the screen. For my film I would like still titles.

EX 2: Scream(1996)

horror/mystery

I love the use of foley. It just brings a certain vibe. Its very down to earth. Like this girl is just living a normal life while getting ready to watch a movie. I love how it starts to create a "desperate" vibe without the use of music. I definitely want to include a lot of foley in my film opening just like they did here. I also like the fact that they put the title card at the very beginning and not later. The title card itself is really creative too, as it goes from white to red, most likely representing blood. I would love to have the title card do something similar like that and fade from white to bright red. Or have the title card be white and then the letters get splattered in red blood followed by screaming (definitely have to design title card in advance). For the purposes of my film opening I think the title card fits best towards the end.

EX 3: Whiplash(2014)

Drama

Okay bear with me I know whiplash has nothing to do with horror but i wanted to study at least one opening that was a drama to see if there are any techniques I would like to incorporate. I loveeee the coloring, its legitimately perfect. I will definitely be using lights for my film opening (and of course incorporate all of that color theory). I definitely want to use lighting and color grading to differentiate between scenes. If we incorporate "quick flashbacks" the different colors could help make it even more clear (i will explain what I'm thinking for the opening in a different post). 

NOTE: *I wasn't able to download all of the video clips with audio*

Credits: 
All of the wonderful people who worked on all 3 films
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx-1Bmx427U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn5SkCvPEYo&t=2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLip2FZLuA

Possible genre choices

In this post I will be talking about two genre choices that i am interested in doing for my film opening, Drama and sci-fi. They are both really strong genres and could even work as a hybrid. I can also work with them in a very creative manner, which is my goal. It was pretty hard to narrow down only two genres... but I think these are 2 possibilities that fit the best.

DRAMA:

Typically centered around a specific strong emotion. Arguably lighting, cinematography, and sound play the most important part. Dramas also rely a lot on tone, so it is important to those techniques to help develop that. These films are also very character and plot driven, as they tend to explore human emotions, relationships, and moral dilemmas. Which are all represented with a lot of emotional depth and character development. Drama is regularly mixed with other sub-genres because these films heavily rely on character-driven stories. 

Whiplash - (2014)
This film has great sound design and lighting techniques that take the drama aspect to a whole other level. The loud drumming compared to utter silence amplifies that emotion in the drama. The cinematography is also extremely clever, Andrew and Fletcher are often framed on opposite thirds, reinforcing their clashing dynamic. Another important detail was that the pacing. The editing style just adds so much dimension. 

SCI-FI:

A genre that typically revolves around the super natural and technologically advanced concepts. It often goes further into humanity’s relationship with science, technology, and the unknown. While blending realism with imaginative elements. Often times they take place in the future, or parallel universes, and include different concepts like space travel, time travel, the supernatural, and dystopia. Sci-fi relies heavily on mise-en-scene, as most films of that genre do not take place in our current and present world. Different settings and clothing are necessary to fully capture the essence of whatever world setting they are trying to establish. Sci-fi often has unique audio and sound effect elements, that most of the time have to be created from scratch for a specific film. They also rely heavily on CGI, visual effects, and color palettes. 

Interstellar - (2014)

This film is a great example of science fiction. They tackle supernatural elements like time relativity, different dimensions, wormholes and more while also developing deep "human" like themes, making it both engaging and emotionally powerful.