Research: Review of Movie Money Confidential 

Today in class we watched the documentary "Money Confidential" which outlines the work that gets put into film production specifically in independent films.Multiple producers, director and budget coordinators explain their struggles and tips on how to succeed when creating any form of film. 

The documentary mainly focuses oil the independent film The Blair Witch Project which was successful in views and revenues. 

Personally, I enjoyed this film and found that it provided me with not only information that I could use in my short film but also information useful for the real world. 

This link is an interview with Louis Levison, thank about business plan: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7qqhs

I was able to learn what a business plan is and how without the use of any actors, producers or directors you cos get people to invest in the production of the film. 

This documentary enlightened and created some ideas on how my group and I will produce our film opening: 

1. How are we going to determine our audience?

We will be determining our audience by choosing a genre that we truly enjoy and feel passionate about in order toy produce the best film opening possible towards an audience interested in the same genre. In the documentary it was stated that if you only make a short film for money then it won't be successful so we are doing it with passion. 

2. How are we going to produce it?

First we have to have a business plan in which we outline the budget we will meed and find ways to meet our budget and accommodate to our economic situation. Then everyone in the group will be in charge of different aspects and come together to film. 

3. How are we going to raise money?

Since this is a student film and is only a short film opening, we will have to come up with our own funds mostly out of our own pocket. Since production cost will be low, the need to gather money is not necessary. Most of the technology used we already have and the sets will be places around the city. We might ask pitch

our ideas to our parents to see if they will help with funds. 

4. Marketing 

Through the use of social media I believe we can advertise of film opening to get people interested. I also believe that were can show our friends and teachers around school and play our film opening in class for other classmates to see. 

 Research: Narrative action and Enigma Codes

Today we learned about the importance of action and enigma codes in a narrative. 

According to Roland Barthes, a narrative has to follow a sequence of events for it to be successful. In order for this to be possible enigma and action codes are used. 

Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqdhrdm/revision/4

 https://media-studies.com/action-enigma-codes/

1. Enigma Codes: Enigma codes is the way in which a media form raises a question, and later on reveals the truth. 

It is a way to tease and grab the audiences attention since information is withheld from the audience. 

Enigma codes can usually be seen in media forms like a newspaper headline or click bate from a YouTube video. Usually used in mysteries or thriller films to slowly revealing clues to the audience. 

    

For example, in the movie Don't Worry Darling, small clips of "reality" are shown through the movie as the characters are in a idealized community, hinting towards the audience that something wrong is happening but not telling them why. 

In this YouTube video, the thumbnail uses an enigma code by posing a question but not revealing an answer until you click it, conspiracy theory. 

2. Action codes: Action codes are used in specific plot points in which the audience builds up suspense because they want to know the outcome of something. 

This usually happens during fight scenes where the audience is in suspense to know who is going to win. Action codes can also be a simple action like the dropping of a pen or a creaking of a door to create the suspense of the audience. 

For example, in this final fight scene in Enola Holmes 2, Enola and Tewksbury are in different fights, making the audience feel the suspense of who is going to win. When Enola gets stabbed with the fake knife, it leaves the audience on the edge of their seats until we find out that the knife was not real. 

in this scene from A Quiet Place, suspense is built when the simple action of a picture frame falling creates suspense for the audience since the noise attacks the monster. 

After researching the different types of codes used to create narrative, I was able to understand how they can add meaning towards a media form. For my final project, I now would like to use an action code when the murder opens a bag of chips when everything else around him is quiet, adding suppose to the scene. 

 Research: Narrative- Main component of a strong narrative 

Today we learned what narrative is. Narrative is the way a story is constructed or place together to create the most accurate meaning. 

There are theories that come with narrative 

1. Traditional narrative theory 

This theory identifies a narrative that follows a certain order every time. The theorist Tzvetan Todorov said that a narrative moves in chronological order. Meaning that one action follows another. 

This table from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqdhrdm/revision/3, shows the order in which a narrative happens in a traditional narrative 

This means that the narrative starts without any conflict, peace, then something interrupts that comfort. After that, there is a journey to restore the peace, there is a climax or an important event that lead to the resolution of the interruption. 

Some of the typical movies that follow this traditional narrative could be Christmas movies. 

For example The Princes Switch would follow this narrative

 

2. Unconventional Narratives 

This theory of narrative is the opposite of a traditional narrative, the stories do not follow a specific cycle and can go off track form the chronological order. 

This can include flash forwards and flashbacks. 

For example the movie Coda is an unconventional narrative since there was no clear equilibrium at the beginning of the film. 

Depending on the type of movie genre, a different narrative could be used. For example mysteries or movies directed towards younger audiences follow traditional since it is easier to follow. 

Action, dramas, or horrors usually take an unconventional route to add complexity towards they story.

Today I learned the importance of choosing a narrative depending on your genre and how narrative is what makes a story come together in a logical way. 

 Research:Sound Editing 

Today in class we learned about the effect that sound has on media and how it is edited. 

First we looked at the effect that sound has on the audience

Different types of sounds add meaning to a film, for example in horror film eery and creepy ,music is played to showcase the suspense, or during sad scenes melancholic music and sound is played. 

Some sound elements of sound include: 

 Harmony: the combination of multiple musical motes in a cord

 dissonance: no harmony within musical notes, clashing of notes

 discordance: no agreement or consistency

 Rhythm: a pattern of movement of sound

 pitch: the quality and vibrations of sound, high and low levels of tone 

and many more

Definitions from: https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

These different sound elements combine to add meaning to media. 

In the opening scene of Aladdin 2017, through the rhythm of the sound that flows and has different pitches on the deeper side, it gives a mysterious tone to the opening scene, intriguing. 

In certain media text there is diegetic which is sound coming from the media and non diegetic sound which is added to the media. 

For example in this scene from Top Gun Maverick, the music playing is non diegetic and the sound from the planes is diegetic sound 

Foley sound is sound effects that are created to enhance drama, for example, footsteps, heavy breathing or even gunshots. 

these sounds are edited together through different cuts 

L- cut: sound from previous scene continues through next scene 

J- cut: Sound from next scene starts playing through previous scene 

Source: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/how-to-edit-videos-l-cuts-and-j-cuts/

In this opening scene from Black Panther, the use of a J cut was first introduced as a character was talking while the screen was black and then changing to the next scene. 

All of the different types of sounds are used to set up the mood for the audience and create a deeper understanding to what is happening during a scene. 

 Research: Editing- Purpose of editing and techniques 

Today we discussed the importance of editing and the impact it has over  media, specifically film and TV shows. 

I found my information from https://curriculum-press.co.uk/resources/secondary/media-studies/p2?categoryTopic%5B0%5D=media-language

There are different aspects that add towards editing techniques including: 

- Shots and angles 

- Cuts/transitions 

overview: 

Shots- 

Some sots include extreme shot, over the shoulder shots, close up shots, long shot, medium shot, cowboy shot and many more. 

These shots add meaning to a film or TV show or are used in a way to establish the atmosphere and setting of a scene 

Some shots are done on purpose to let the audience know a deeper meaning behind something or to foreshadow something only the audience will know and the character will later find out, creates a deeper connection with audience

I will use some examples of my favorite shots from a TV show and a Movie that I really enjoyed 

In the TV show "Stranger Things" we get many extreme or establishing shots to show where the characters are located in contrast to their surrounding 

In the movie "Tick Tick Boom" we get a close up of Jonathan Larson's face especially his eyes so the audience can see the stress he is feeling

 

Cuts/Transitions: 

Cuts and transitions are used to put different scenes together and to make them flow in the way the editor wants them to be placed. 

Some cuts and transitions include, fade out, jump cuts, match cuts, dissolve, iris wipe, and many more. 

The shots can demonstrate the passage or moving of time between scenes or it can just be a way to place two scenes together in a continuous way. 

Using examples from some of my favorite movies, I will be showing my personal favorite cuts and transitions used

In the movie "Mamma Mia Here we Go Again," the transition used to show the passing or going back in time from old Donna to young Donna uses a match cut sliding down the stairs 

In the TV show the Vampire Diaries, Jump cuts were used a lot especially during flashback scenes and scenes when the vampires would "run" from one place to another

For example, in these flashback scenes, the jump cuts between flashback and current time are abrupt and un announced, which show the clear mark between the two times

In these scenes, jump cuts are used to show how fast vampires really are and their fast reaction time 

There are two ways in which the passing of time can be shown through editing:

- Continuity editing 

- Elliptical editing 

In continuity editing, the passage of time is alluded without showing everything that happens during the time that passes, it only shows what is necessary for the audience to understand 

this is the most common for of editing 

In this clip from "Legally Blonde", we can see continuity editing being used because it makes the audience feel like the events and conversations are happening in a continuous way, flows smoothly 

In elliptical editing, the passing of time is shown with tension and is used to draw the attention of the audience to what is about to happen

In Spider Man No Way Home, elliptical editing is used to shorten some clips as well as to show tension when a villain is about to drop a bomb or break a window 

From this research, I learned that every shot, angle, cut and transition add significant meaning to a movie or TV show and that each one is made with consideration on how someones else will interpret it. 

Research: Mise-En-Scene, Focus: Costumes

In class, we decided to focus on a specific component of Mise-en-scene and apply it to a certain movie to use as an example. 

The focus that I decided to choose was Costume design. To show how big a role costume design plays, I chose to analyze the costumes in the movie West Side Story, 2021.

West side Story 

Genre:Musical/Romance 

Director: Steven Spielberg 

Costume designer: Paul Tazewell

Source: Vogue:The Deeper Meaning Behind West Side Story’s Dazzling Costumes

The costumes in this movie played a major role since they were representative of not only the time period, but of where the character is from. 

In this interview with the costume dinner Paul Tazewell, he describes how he decided to choose certain designers and fabrics person costume. For example the for the character Rita, her costumers broke the conventions of a typical "old lady" by making her wear pants in the opening scene. 

Since this is a musical, the costumes had to be made with stretchy fabric, since the costumes need to be able to stretch and flow while dancing. 

dress of Maria, dress had to be easy to dance with 

The costumes also had to showcase the time periods of the 50's, but since there are two groups the Jets usually European/American background, and the sharks, immigrants from Puerto Rico, the costumes had to set them apart. 

For the sharks, it had to be considered that the come from "broken homes" and are struggling especially economically.Warmer yellow and gold, tropical prints. 

 The jets wardrobe is "shabbier" with lots of denim and leather, focusing on the color hues blue and blacks. 

The designer had to do much research on the 1950's street style, specifically focusing on gangs and colored pictures to look at the different hues of the clothing

For Anita's dress during the America scene, he wanted to make the dress an extension of what she was doing. The meaning behind the yellow dress was to showcase the energy and joy of being in America. 

Video from America scene, showcasing the yellow dress and how it flows while Anita dances 

From this research, I learned how costume adds meaning as well as dimension to the characters and the story line. I know have a better understanding for my final project on how I should choose the costumes and how it will relate to the message the film opening is trying to convey. 

 Research: What is Mise-en-Scene and its conventions 

Mise-en-Scene is all the aspects on the scenery of media like a movie or a play like lighting, props, costumes, camerawork, sets, and actors. 

These components make up the importance of a scene and can even challenge conventions. 

With the use of mise en Scene, conventions can be challenged by certain aspects of the scenery or of the actor not fitting into the stereotype, while some films fit perfectly into its genre conventions. 

In class we chose a film to demonstrate mise en scene and its conventions

 Enola Holmes 2

Genre: Mystery and action

Props, costumes, and sets: Since this film is based in England during the late 1800, so the costumes demonstrate the typical dresses and suits worn by men and women. 

Corset for women, neutral color suit for men 

The use of matches also played a big role since this was during the match girls strike, and the match factory was a major set that delivered the importance of matches during the movie

Women being detectives of having a mans job at this time challenged the typical convention of men being detectives by having a woman play one

Match factory 

Actors: The movie featured many famous British actors from a range of ages appealing to different audiences depending on age. For example Millie Bobby Brown, Louis Partridge, Henry Cavill, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Cast/movie poster

Camerawork: During fighting scenes the camera would usually use a wide angle shot to showcase the whole fight scene. In particular, the dancing scene with Enola and Tewksbury uses a series of low angle and close up shots to show the tension the have while dancing. 

Millie Bobby Brown describes in this interview shot by shot the dancing scene in her film as well as describing important shots and angles placed for certain effects. For example she explained the significance of the two candles landing between them dancing representing their love and connection.

 Planning: Final project brainstorm

In class today, we got together in our groups to plan the final two minute film opening. 

The first step we took was decide who was going to do what. 

Roles:

Valentina: Assistant Director, Casting director, screenplay, producer


Fabiana: Director, screenplay, storyboard, producer


Francesca: Sound, Editing, Makeup, Costumes, Camerawork, producer 

After diving the roles we started to brainstorm ideas of what the film opening was going to be like:

Description: A guy in a gasoline store gets chips, standing in a corner looks at garbage man taking out the trash, blood drips from bag and some body part falls out, eye contact between the two characters, man with chips runs away. 

We decided to do a thriller film opening because we thought it would be the most exciting and interesting one to film 

We now need to decide where we will film it and who our cast will be. 

The story is still being re arranged and changed as we elaborate and think of new ideas.