Planning Blog: Other Information

 The final task will be taking place at Nicole's house

Participants:

Actors- Maria Koehl, Nicole Miller, Mila Rakic, Brianna Reyes (my sister), and Hannah Reyes (me). 
Filming- Maria Koehl, Nicole Miller, Mila Rakic, and Hannah (me). 
Editing- Mila Rakic and Hannah Reyes (me).  
Directing- Nicila Manah

While filming, it is a priority of ours to keep everyone involved safe and healthy. In order to do that, we have come up with rules that will be strongly enforced on set. Our rules include having adult supervision at all times. We will not perform any dangerous acts or stunts. But during our scene where our actor falls to the ground, we will provide a cushion to land on and make sure there are no sharp objects around. We will not use any dangerous materials and props. We will take breaks when needed. We will provide everyone involved with plenty of food and drinks.

 

On 02/28/2022 we will plan out our production process and storyboard. 

On 03/06/2022 we will begin the filming process. 

On 03/13/2022 we will continue filming. 

On 03/20/2022 we will start editing the film on iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro. We will begin video cutting and then movie to fixing lighting and color

On 03/21/2022 we will continue editing. We will begin adding sound effects and background music.

On 03/24/2022 we will finalize the editing process and make any finishing touches.

In case anything goes wrong during filming, we will have a backup plan in place! In case two days of filming is not enough time, March 19 will be our backup film day. If our filming location becomes compromised at all, we have other houses ready to be filmed at. If an actor becomes unavailable, we have people ready to step up and act in their place. If our two main editing dates are not enough, we can continue on March 22 and 23 as well.

Planning Blog: Title Design

Some of the fonts we were planning on using in our film include Alta California, IM FELL Double Pica SC, and Juniper Std. For Alta California, we would use it when we show our names. For example, when we write “Edited by: Hannah and Mila” it would be used on “Hannah and Mila.” It is a sticker-like decorative font that has a rugged look to it. It relates to the film we are creating because it is a story about a girl who has a rugged life and mentality. Also, the font has a youthful feeling attached to it which correlates to how the film is made about teenagers. It also has a scary and mysterious feeling to it, which matches the overall tone of the film. It relates to our thriller genre and emphasizes the mood that we are trying to implement.  For IM FELL Double Pica SC, we would use it for the title descriptions. For example, when we write “Edited by: Hannah and Mila” it would be used on “Edited by.” It is a serif small caps font with a rugged, traditional, and sophisticated appeal. We researched and found that serif fonts allow an audience to read quicker so we thought since we can't have the title for too long it would be nice for viewers. Also, we wanted to reflect the genre with the traditional and sophisticated feel and perception of a thriller. Additionally, it helps to not give an overcrowded or messy look because the other font is artsy. The simpleness of this font helps to balance it out. 

Finally, for the Juniper Std font, it would be utilized where we write the film’s title. It would be used when we write “Conscious Betrayal.” This font is decorative and all caps. It is a bold and strong fought with a little of a mysterious feeling to it. We wanted to add that to our title because it was making it feel important and part of the genre. It is a good way to introduce our film that is also bold and serious itself. As for the title, we feel that we chose the right title because conscious, specifically meaning the perception of someone’s self, life, and experiences, reflects the film. We are trying to show the audience that the main character's perception of life is being distorted by some type of set-up and people around her. She’s driving herself insane and others are also. Also, “betrayal” because it’s been caused upon her by the people closest to her and herself. We also wanted to make the title black because it is the color that will contrast with the background the most. It will make the title pop out more. It will also be a large and easy-to-read size so the audience can immediately understand that this is the film title. It’s important for the audience to see the film title because this way, they can get an idea of what the film will be about and what to expect. 

As for how the titles will enter and leave the screen, we were thinking to use a “reveal” transition. This means the words will slowly fade into the screen and they will do the same and fade out when they are exiting the screen. Each title should be on the screen for about two seconds, a maximum of four. This way, the audience has just enough time to read them and so we don’t spend too much time on this part and are able to include more of our film. The movie title will of course be the title that spends the most time on the screen. It should be there for about four seconds. We will also try to include some of the titles into the setting. For example, in a window or on the pillow of a bed. This creates a mysterious mood because the titles are almost “hidden” and helps set the overall tone for the film.  

Planning Blog: Script

 Scene 1: 

- Sound (non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music begins

- Lighting: neutral lighting slightly gray

- Grace (main character): Yeah, let me explain it's just lately I haven't had any motivation and I told her that and she just 

- Acting: Grace stops a while talking Asia and Reese, they give each urgent stares 

- Asia (friend 1): Keep talking, I have to use the bathroom 

- Grace: Oh, alright so... 

- Acting: Asia goes to Grace’s room and places a note then runs to the bathroom silently  

- Sound(non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music lowers more in the background 

- Acting: Reese notices that Asia finished. 

- Reese (friend 2): Yeah, Grace I'm going to be outside for little I don’t know just need 

- Grace: Hey its fine go its fine, whatever 

Scene 2: 

- Acting: Goes to room and sets down school things and sit on chair  

- Lighting: Neutral low-key lighting (window are open) twins are seen in in the distance of the set 

- Grace: Um no one wants to listen, I hate it can't confide in anyone my chest is dying from this weight, it was just mistake, I'm innocent.  

- [Reese pass by room door going to bathroom and walks back going back outside] 

 

Scene 3: 

- Sound(non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music grows

- Asia: I did it are you happy ugh its wrong 

- Reese: She needs it, once we leave this bathroom none of this happened 

- Lighting: Bright white light (high-key) 

Scene 4: 

- Sound (non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music softens

- Acting: Grace gets up and walks to mirror, looks mirror showing two different emotions- takes out clip from her hair and pen 

- Grace: its fine, I'm fine, I'm happy, no I'm not 

- Acting: Grace jumps on the bed and begins to cry, Asia is watching at the door way and leaves, Grace continues to smile creepy then gets angry and falls out of the bed chuckling finding a note 

- Sound(non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music rises 

- Sound: ambient sounds of body hitting the floor and diegetic sounds of Reese screaming  

- Grace: WAIT... that was outside, omg Reese 

Scene 5:

- Sound (non-diegetic): suspenseful instrumental music continues to rise 

- Sound (diegetic): fast footsteps of Grace 

- Lighting: Gloomy and low-key lighting 

Scene 6: 

- Grace: Reese!!, where is everyone I can't I did it again. 

Title Research: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

 While searching for another movie title to research, we came across the movie 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'. We watched over the sequence a few times, looking to answer a few questions we had previously planned. The first question being, how many titles were revealed and what were they. What we noticed as we watched was that there were about thirty different titles that came across the screen. Usually one at a time but occasionally doubling up, they premiered things such as the director, producers, costume designers, casting directors, actors and actresses, etc. We also wondered what tone was provided with each title. When providing the titles, they used "scary" fonts in red and black colors all around. It looked as though there was blood dripping everywhere and many sketchy shadows looming around. We believe it was meant to prepare viewers for what the film will be and build up fear before anything began. Next, we had to decide whether or not the sequence had a good representation of its genre. The genre of this film is technically a thriller. However, watching the opening title sequence it made it seem as if the film was more specifically a horror film. It didn't cause adrenaline or a build up of distress. But it gave off uneasy vibes which we personally felt did not fit the thriller theme too well. Although the screening felt very repetitive and boring to watch. We felt that it could still appeal to its targeted audience. Horror and thriller play into each other a ton and thriller audiences are likely to enjoy terror along with distress during a film. The sequence didn't completely discount it's genre being thriller. We still all felt as though it provided some what of an anxiety inducing environment. This wasn't our favorite sequence to watch but it will definitely help our process in the future.

Title Research: Halloween

 There are about thirty titles mentioned in this opening sequence. The first titles show the characters in the movie. Following that, comes the different casting, music, makeup designers, costumes, editors, producers, writers, and directors. The opening sequence begins with the name of the movie, in this case "Halloween". Then, they show a deteriorated pumpkin. The pumpkin grows as if it was reversing back to its original shape and appearance. Meanwhile, the titles continuously disappear and reappear in the frame as the pumpkin grows. The images carry an old feeling and a somehow scary connotation. The music creates suspense and some level of anxiety about what is coming next. The colors used throughout this opening sequence follow along the theme. The use of the colors black and orange resembles the spirit of Halloween. The use of a carved, but deteriorated pumpkin, resembles something old and even a scary environment. The combination of music, colors, and camera angles takes the audience to an autumn and sober environment. By creating a suspense environment, it keeps the audience interested in what is yet to come for the movie. The editing was a very important part in making this opening sequence. This is due to the use of advanced technology in showing reversal of natural aging. There were not many camera angles and shots used in the making of this sequence. This could be due to its simplicity. However, we did see examples of closeups and canted shots throughout the sequence. They use these types of camera angles and shots to help emphasize the fear to be created for the spectators. 

Title Research: Code 8

 The movie titles that were included in "Code 8" were the name of the studio, other companies that were associated with the production of the movie, the production company, the actors' names, who the casting was by, the visual effects supervisor, who the music was by, the costume designer, who it was edited by, who the color was by, the production designer, the director of photography, the co-producer, the associate producers, the executive producers, who it was produced by, who the screenplay was by, who the story was by, who it was directed by, and the movie title. The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are all very mysterious and puzzling, such as a drone, a man hooked up with wires walking on a treadmill, and various people getting arrested. There are also multiple images of unknown machines operating and even clips taken from the news included. These images are in a way foreshadowing the mysterious and supernatural. They let viewers know that the movie is going to be about humans with superpowers, which are unnatural and unusual events. The images used are just the same in the sense that they create a feeling of uneasiness in the audience and prepare them for a movie that carries the same atmosphere. The film establishes a feeling of the suspenseful genre through symbolic and technical codes in multiple ways, one example is the close-ups, like the extreme close-up of an eye. This works to show the fear in that character to bring that fear among the audience as well. It also uses intense editing like glitches over its images. This also creates a sense of mystery and suspense. The film’s target audience is young adults and up as well as people who don’t want to travel far to watch movies. The strategies used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience include making the film available to watch on Netflix. This is a movie streaming platform that can be viewed from people’s laptops, phones, and television. By streaming the movie here, the film can also attract more viewers because it decreases the effort people need to put in to watch the movie. It is made clear the film is meant for young adults and up because it uses heavy language and overall children don’t usually watch movies like this because it scares them. The film makes it clear that it is going to be a generally scarier type of movie from the very start. Technology has been used effectively by using specific shots and editing techniques. For instance, there are multiple “close-up” shots taken throughout the video, ranging from medium to extreme close-ups. This is seen when there are images of various people’s faces, eyes, etc. This works to create a feeling of uneasiness and suspense in the audience’s mind and sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Some of the editing techniques used include using intense editing like glitches over its images. This also creates a sense of mystery and suspense.  

Title Research: Random Acts of Violence

 While we viewed the title sequence for “Random Acts of Violence” we found it had in total around twenty five titles. It had titles for the name of the film, the producer, the writer, the music, the studio company, the costume designer, the illustrator, and the director etc. The titles were white block letter style and had a heavy graphic overlay, a dark black background with bright primary colors flashing. Throughout the opening sequence there were images of skulls and people laying on the ground that had an essence of death and violence. There were also images of creepy extreme close-up smiles. It made us feel negatively overstimulated giving us a sense of foreboding. We could feel something dreadfully unexpected will take place throughout the film. Also there was a section of extreme close-ups on different peoples faces specifically focusing on their eyes. This section had quick paced editing. The films editing, color palette, audio, and lighting reinforce the thriller genre of random acts of violence. The title sequence included a dark lighting with flashes of colors with digital affects added to the titles that give them a saturated hue. It created a distressed ambience. They are you doing this title sequence was suspenseful music that was part of the soundtrack. This technical code created a sudden grasp of attention to the fast paced editing and graphic images. The audio was distorted and was intensely forte. This type of audio reinforced the suspense for shocking feelings that a thriller film conveys. Also the transitions between images were seamlessly correlated with the music. When there was a high music note that change to low, the background image would  cut and there would be a new shot. The technology used to produce this title sequence was very effective in capturing the thriller genre  conventions. The target audience for this film are people who enjoy thriller novels that evolve to be a film. This film and the novel that accompanies it is about comic writers and the target audience will appeal to the comic like editing in the sequence. It also included bright saturated colors that appealed and grab the attention of the audience. Additionally, due to the editing being glitchy in a sense it gave to the target audience that media is taking over which is appealing to the target audience.

Title Website Research

During this research stage in our project, we decided to begin research sites based on title sequences and the process behind their creation for specific films and genres. To begin with we found two sites. www.artofthetitle.com and www.watchthetitles.com. 

My group and I particularly liked the way that the website “Art of the Title” was formatted where all the award-winning tile sequences are shown and there are articles about their production. The title sequence section of the films is separated into a video that we can watch. We found that this feature was helpful. It allowed us to determine how we interpreted the film and the graphics without having to go through the whole film again. We researched this site to inform ourselves and view well-made title sequences in films that we watch daily. We wanted to see how different title sequences impact our view and emotions on the film. We found that most of the opening sequences are like a prelude to the film. We saw the importance of different conventions used to reinforce the genre of the film. We then got to view the film’s information and see our interpretation of the film and our inferences on the genre, seeing if we were correct. We can then go on to see how the genre's conventions were portrayed in these films. For our research purposes, this website was very descriptive, and we found that helpful. It provided descriptions of the style categories and the genre related to those styles. 

My group and I found another website called “Watch the Titles” and we found it very interactive. It had an interactive home page with many options for title sequences. It supplied direct quotations and information from and about artists of title sequences and motion design. For each feature that it listed there were title sequences that the website gave information. The information was about the style and the graphics. The website gave information about how it was correlated to the overall genre of the movie and the director's wishes for the emotions he the audience to experience. The website provided the directors and animators thought process behind the title sequence also. It also supplied the number of pitches each title sequence had and the distinctive designs that were carried out for each of them. It additionally included the reason behind changing them, like the mood that the production team was trying to achieve for viewers. The website also recommended more title sequences to view and information to learn more about their title sequences. 

www.watchthetitles.com

www.artofthetitle.com