Filming Blog

Today, my group mate and I filmed our horror movie. After school, we drove back to my house. We began filming the first scene in my kitchen. We then moved on to film the other scenes we needed to film downstairs. We shot the scenes in the kitchen, hallway, and living room. We filmed each clip multiple times just to be sure we got the shot to be the best we could make it. We then moved upstairs to continue filming. We filmed on the stairs, in the bedroom, and in the hallway. Just as we did downstairs, we filmed each scene a couple times. Some of the scenes were difficult to get because it was only the two of us. We did not have anyone to help us film, so only one of us could be in the shot at a time. But, it ended up working out and making the film look more interesting and dramatic. We filmed all the scenes for our entire movie. But, we plan to get together again Sunday and re-film some shots. We want to film the shots again to get some better ones if possible, and to also have extra clips just incase. On Sunday, we also plan to edit the majority of our video. On Tuesday in class, some of our classmates will be watching the first draft of our edited video. They will be peer reviewing our video and giving us feedback on how to make it better. After that, we are going to reshoot and re-edit any necessary clips to make our movie the best it can be.

Filming Blog

Today, my group mate and I decided to begin filming some scenes for our movie. After school, we drove to my house. My group mate could not stay for long because she had to be home at an early time. Because of this, we chose to just do some practice shots. We looked at our storyboard and went scene by scene deciding where we were going to film each one. For the kitchen scene, we obviously chose to film in the kitchen. What we really needed to focus on was figuring out what rooms to place the intruder and the victim. We also needed to figure out how we could make the sounds we wanted to have in our movie. We decided to use my moms bedroom to film one of the scenes because it fit the idea of our movie the best. We did get some actual footage as well. We were not in costume or really trying to get any good scenes. Since we did not have much time, we wanted to go through and just practice filming each scene to see if we liked the camera angles and movements we planned on using. We also played around with the lighting. We wanted to make sure we were able to set the right mood in the scenes with the lighting and angles. We did decide to change a few of the angles in some scenes. We were able to create the desired lighting for our scenes. We did not get to go through our entire movie because my group mate had to leave. But, we now have a much better idea of how we are going to film our movie.

Title Research: Penny Dreadful

I am watching a title sequence from the website Art of the Title. The movie is Penny Dreadful. There are 27 titles in the opening sequence. The images prioritized are mainly of insects, playing cards, close-ups of faces, snakes, bats, and blood. These images show suspense and horror. The horror genre is reinforced by the eerie music and unsettling images. The images speed up as the music does, which adds suspense and leaves the audience wondering what happens next. The film establishes enigma by telling a sort of story through the opening sequence, and then cutting off at the climax of the images and music. The film appeals to its target audience by showing images of blood, weapons, and other common horror movie aspects. Technology was used effectively by the images speeding up with the music, the close ups of suspicious looking peoples faces, and showing some of the clips in slow motion. The close-ups of the peoples faces makes the audience wonder who those people are, what they did or are going to do, and why they are important to the film.

Title Research: American Horror Story

I am watching a title sequence from the website Art of the Title. The show is called American Horror Story. There are 8 titles displayed during the opening sequence. The images shown in the opening sequence are mainly creepy images of random things such as embryos in a bottle, bloody knives, monster-like creatures, and dark hallways. The images are very eerie, and create a strong sense of horror. The horror genre is reinforced by the ear-wrenching music and unsettling images. The film establishes enigma by choosing random and scary images. The images don't really seem to make sense together, so it creates a mysterious sense. The film uses the strategy of unnerving images and sounds to attract the attention of people who enjoy creepy horror movies. Technology was used by having close ups on all of the objects shown in the images, and having some shots taken from a low or high angle to show different points of view.

Title Research: Seven

I am watching a title sequence from the website Watch The Titles. The movie is called Seven. There are 26 titles in this opening sequence. In the opening scenes, the images prioritized show a man looking through what seems to be a police report. He is crossing things out and cutting out pictures. There are blood splatters. It also shows clips of drawings, hands, and razor blades. The images show that the person may be trying to hide a crime, possibly a murder. Or, the person could be trying to solve a crime. The images show radiate mystery. The genre is reinforced by the eerie music, bloody images, and glitching text on the titles. The film establishes an enigma by showing clips of a person holding suspicious objects and doing suspicious things. The audience does not know who the person is, what they are doing, or what they might've done. The film uses mystery and eerie clips and music to appeal to its target audience. The film is targeted towards those who enjoy horror movies. The close up angles of the razor blades, papers, pictures, blood, etc. are how technology was used effectively.

Title Research: Two Eyes Staring

I am watching a title sequence from the website Watch The Titles. The movie is called Two Eyes Staring. The title sequence of this movie begins with a name, and a weird shaped shadow object on the screen. Inside of the shadow looking objects it shows pages with writing on them. In the background, there is eerie, yet calm, music playing. There are no words in the music. There are 14 titles displayed in the opening sequence. There are 14 images prioritized in the opening sequence. The images seem innocent, yet creepy at the same time. The genre is reinforced by the sequence showing eerie images inside of a weird unidentifiable shape. This adds to the mystery aspect of horror films. The film establishes an enigma by showing short, seemingly random, clips from the movie. This clips are shown inside of a shadow-shape. The shape is not an identifiable shape, so it creates mystery. The opening sequence uses strategies like suspense and mystery to keep the viewer interested and wanting more. The clips shown in the opening sequence seem kind of random, which makes the audience want to know what happens in the movie to better understand the clips in the beginning. Technology has been used effectively in this opening sequence by showing only a few seconds of each clip. The quick preview of the scenes adds suspense, a key detail in horror movies.

Preparation Blog

To prepare to film our movie, my group mate and I planned out everything we would be doing. We decided that we would meet after school one day and film the movie at my house. We decided my house was the best place to film because it is close to our school and has the right setting for our movie. We also knew that if we need to get any props or anything else for our movie, we could drive to a store close to my house to get things we may need. My group mate and I both have a car and a drivers license, so transportation will not be a problem. We also planned what our costumes would be for the movie. My group mate will be wearing normal, every day clothes. She is going to be playing the victim in our movie. I will be wearing all black clothing and a ski mask. I will be playing the intruder. We wanted to begin filming this week, but both of us were busy the entire week and weekend, so we decided to film next week. We planned out our filming schedule so that we could have a full week to film. That way, if we make any mistakes or have to reshoot any scenes, we have the time to do so. Filming next week still gives us a good amount of time to edit. We will also have enough time to reshoot after editing if needed. We will most likely want to do a few reshoots to make our movie the best it can be. We want to try to complete the filming process early though, preferably within two days or so. But, if we need to take longer to film, we have the time. Editing will also take likely two days. We will be filming the movie with our phones, and editing it with iMovie on my laptop.

Storyboard Blog

Our story begins with a young girl washing dishes in a dark kitchen, in a dark house. She hears a loud noise. She wanders the house. She investigates the noise. She walks into her bedroom. She spots an intruder. They don’t see her so she backs away quietly. Suddenly, she makes a creaking noise. The intruder spots her in undeviating eye contact. The rest will he revealed in an exciting thriller.

Title Research: Watch the Titles Website

I am looking at the Watch the Titles Website. I am looking at this website in order to watch and learn about different title sequences in movies. This website will help me and my group mate to learn how to properly create a horror movie title sequence for our movie. On this website, there are a lot of different title sequences available to watch. On the top of the home page, there is a drop down bar that says Title Sequences, where you can look through popular title sequences. Next to that, there is a Designers section. This section has different title sequence designers. The next thing is a Studios section, which has a list of different studios that create the title sequences. There is also a Search bar where you can search for different title sequences from certain movies or movie genres. There is a part where you can watch interviews with different people who created title sequences of popular movies. Below that, there are feature films, then TV shows, then event titles, student projects, video games, and french Fridays. Each of these sections show many different types of title sequences. I used this website in order to help me better understand how title sequences are supposed to look. Specifically, horror movie title sequences. This website helped my group mate and I create our own title sequence for our horror movie.

Location, Sound, Participants, Health, and Schedule Blog

 The following is a Google presentation made to further explain the details of our horror movie project. The presentation includes the location of where we’re filming, which is a teammate’s home. It also includes the health and safety precautions we will be taking to ensure our well-being. The participants of the film are directed. Finally, the schedule is outlined. There are 3 processes: the planning/preparing, the filming, and the editing. Each are planned to take about a week, give or take. The planning will end on 2/14/20. The filming will end on 2/21/20. The editing will end on 2/26/20.

Title Design Blog

In this google slide document, we included all the information about what our titles will be in our opening sequence of our movie. We included each title name and what we will be calling it. We included what font we are going to use, as well as color and size. We also showed the spacing between letters. The working title of each title is also included in the google slide. We said how the titles will transition into the movie, and how long they will each appear on the screen for. The point of this google slides is to inform and plan how we will be creating our titles when we are editing our movie. We wanted the titles to look uniform throughout, so the same size, color, and font will be used for each title. Same goes for transitions in and out, and the duration each title appears on the screen.

Sound Script

 As opposed to our Shooting Script, this presentation is not separated by each scene. However, every 3 scenes are on a different slide. This is because our film has much action. But it does not have as much sound. Some scenes has the words “no dialogue.” This is not meant to signal that there is no sound in the scene. This is meant to signal that no characters say anything in the scene. Most scenes have a moment where a noise, big or small, has taken place. The specific causes of the noises offscreen have yet to be decided. However, they will remain true to the story on screen.

Shooting Script

Our shooting script is essentially a written storyboard. It explains the plot of our film and tells the story. It separates the movie by each scene. Every scene has its own slide. On each slide includes the scene’s camera angles and character actions. Each slide also has the lighting and its procedures. While the Sound Script will contain more in-depth sounds and sound procedures, the Shooting Script has a short explanation of most sounds. Almost every action any character takes is included in the presentation. Almost every effect of said actions are also included. There are 12 scenes in the film.

Title Research: Art of the Title Website

I am looking at the Art of the Title website. I am looking at this website in order to be able to look at and learn more about the title sequences of movies. I will use this website to help me understand how I am going to create my own title sequence. I will also use this website to research titles. On the website, the first thing that catches your attention is a section that says "Top 10 Title Sequences of 2019". On the top of the homepage, there is a dropdown bar that says "Title Sequences". It has many different options of different title sequences that you can look at. Next to that is another dropdown bar that says "Designers and Studios". The "Designers and Studios" section has a list of many different names of designers. It also has a list of different studios. Next to that, there is a search bar where you can search up different title sequences to watch. By looking at this website, I have learned about the different ways title sequences are done in my genre of film. I learned that the title sequences of horror films typically try to create an immediate sense of horror. They have an eerie and creepy tone to them in order to set the mood of the film. In some cases though, the title sequence can be calm and not horror-like, to create a sense of anticipation for when the movie will become scary.