FINAL PROJECT: FILM OPENING 

This is my final film opening project  

 

 Creative Critical Reflection 4 Digital presentation Informative video 

For my final creative critical reflection I answered the question: 

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

How How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text? by Francesca Roman

With this CCR I decided to use the app Canva, to create an informative video in which an audience can read and move along with. I added some palmful music in the background and using a background form the app I wrote down the audience and distribution strategies. 

Some main points that I mentioned is that my targeted audience was of the teenage years that said they preferred horror and thrillers over any other genre. I was Abel to read my audience with the conventions of my genre being followed or not. 

I also planned my distribution strategy with previous research on how similar films have been distributed. 

With the help of social media, carnivals, and festivals my film can expand and branch out to bigger companies willing invest or re produce the film and even reach theaters. 

I can also use product placement and advertising like posters and sponsorship with companies. 

 

 Creative Critical Reflection 3 Digital presentation Animaker video

For my third creative critical reflection I decided to answer the question: 

How did your production skills develop through this project? 

I decided to answer this question through the app animaker making an animated interview to answer and explore this question 

LINK TO DIGITAL PRESENTATION: ANIMAKER VIDEO CLICK HERE

As I mentioned in the video, I mostly developed my editing skills since that was one of my main jobs in this project. In comparison to the first project I knew how to make my transitions cleaner and how to add better sound to my film. 

My skills when it came to audio and lighting also improved since I was able to adjust some of the lighting in I movie to be concise and add folly sounds to the background to make the audio clear. 

My costume skills also developed as I was able to explore the meaning behind every costume and what even the color of a shirt could mean for a character. I made sure each costume was representative of the characters persona. 

In order to make this animaker video, I created an account and made my own avatar to make it look like myself being interviewed. I voiced both characters. 

I used a Voiceover feature on the app that allowed me to record what I was saying and make the mouths of the characters move in the same way. I also used the different poses and backgrounds the app had to make the avatars move as well and making the background look like a professional interview. I used the text boxes from the app to add the text. 

 Creative Critical Reflection 2 Digital presentation commentary 

For my second creative critical reflection I Answered the question:

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues? 

I did this by make a commentary on my film opening

Through the use of props, actors, lighting and editing, conventions were challenged. Actors who might not be typical to the role were casted to break conventions as well as the lighting being brighter than a typical horror movie. 

We also followed conventions with blood and body parts. It was engaging being able to make some of the props, for example I made the blood using transparent glue and food coloring. 

Making the female a leading role in a horror film breaks conventions of a typical male killer. 

The costumes also followed conventions of a suspicious killer with her hood up and typical clothes for a teenage boy. His clothes were simple and plain typical for its times. 

The white noise of the background and no dialogue added to the enigma of the film since it created suspense for the viewers. 

In this commentary, I used a voice over to use specific examples from our film opening to demonstrate the convention being broken and the representation of different social groups. 

I paused in certain clips to show specific examples and was able to move back and forth throughout the video. I did this be screen recording myself moving the movie and adding a Voiceover on I movie. 

 Creative Critical Reflection 1 Digital presentation prezi

For the first creative critical reflection I answered the question: 

How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

I believe that my role in this project had a major use of technology especially when it came to editing, sound and research. Without the technology I had accessible like a phone, computer or I pad I would not have been able to create our final project to look as clean as it is being presented. 

With applications like I movie and YouTube as well as airdrop I was able to compile the clips together and add choose which clips worked the best for the movie as well as make the sound clear. 

I was able to advance my technology skills because I had to research different ways to edit the sound from the actual clip, how to upload videos on YouTube, and how to make everything into a good quality. 

Technology was also used to communicate with my group and plan where to meet to film, inform the actors on when they had to film, and plan the roles, props, and the discussions about the project. 

Technology was one of the most helpful and useful benefits I had to make the movie as best as possible.

 Planning: Experience on the day of filming

Filming the final film opening was an immersive and exciting experience between a lot of people in my Media Studies class. 

 

 

We started to record after school at around 3:30 pm.

 

We had some trouble on the day of filming because just when we were heading to film, it started to rain. Thankfully when we got there the weather cleared up and was the perfect environment to film in. 

A picture of Valentina and I at the filming location ready to get to work! Valentina is one of the members in my group 

 We all met up at the gas station and got to work. We set up our props got the costumes on and started to record. 

 

Preparing Hugo to get into character 

Fabiana filming one of the scenes 

Some things did not go as expected, as I had written in a previous blog, I had originally wanted the lighting to be dark to give a creepy and mysterious touch to the opening, but due to everyone’s schedules we had to film earlier, meaning brighter light. Although that did not go as expected it was still a good time of day to film since it challenges horror conventions. 

 

At the gas station that allowed us to film with the props we made and bought

It took around 2 hours to film, and we were done by 5-5:30. The people that worked at the gasoline stop were very helpful and provided us with the trash bag as well as allowing us to film in the location. 

 

Our main character played by Alexandra and one of the students in our media studies class who was there to support, he also gave us a ride because of the rain

There were some mistakes and funny clips in which some things did not go as planned, but after some takes, we were able to get it right. 

 

The collaboration between different groups was a great way in which we all were able to feel comfortable which recording and preparing to film. 

 

 

 

 Planning: Editing

Another part that I was in charge of in my project was editing the video together. 

I made sure all the clips were put together, I made transitions, added the written text, and sound. 

This was all done through I movie as well as YouTube to upload the video. 

First I used I movie to place all the scenes in sequence and cut some parts of videos for clean transitions. 

Then I added the written text to the videos, like the date, and the credits to the screen. I used the text that I movie provides. 

I lowered the volume to all the clips and added folly and non diegetic sound to the opening. I used public sounds from I movie that can be used without copyright. 

For our production company, I used the same text used for the preliminary put I made out it on top of an image of a flashing light, and made the light be own for a long time for the text to show. 

Finally I used YouTube to upload the video with my YouTube channel dedicated to school work

 Planning: Costumes Day of filming 

 

I was in charge of costumes on the day of filming so I had to make sure that the costumes fit the characters. 

Johnny's costumes 

For Johnny, We decided to change his look to a more simple outfit instead of the original idea. He was wearing a grey hoodie with khaki pants and grey sneakers. 

This sudden outfit change was due to the fact that we did not have all the original outfits available at the moment, but the outfit worn during the filming was perfectly fit for Johnny since it was relaxed and still a typical outfit for a teenage boy. 

This is especially due to the fact that I used outfits we already had to put this together, making the clothes coming directly from a teenager. 

 

Sadie's costumes

With Sadie, I followed the original idea except there was a change in the color of the sweatshirt instead of black to a grey. 

It still gave a dark and mysterious feeling and fit with the image I had imagined for a killer. Also keeping the hood up let the audience know that her character is suspicious.

 Planning: Preparing for day of filming reflection

The day before we filmed I got all of my supplies ready like the fake blood and lunch box and well as things needed for costumes. 

I made sure my phone was free of space since it is the device we used for filming. 

In class the day of filming, in the morning, I talked to the cast and made sure the costumes fit and were perfect for filming. 

Getting costumes ready before filming 

Although everything was planned the rainy weather was unforeseen for but it eventually stopped. 

We got permission from the gasoline stop worker to film.

props set up for filming 

I gave the props to one off my group members to keep in her car before filming but her car was crashed and had to be taken to get repaired with all the props in them so we had to wait until the car was fixed to get the props back. which delayed the set up for filming.

After that we made sure everything was in its place and our actors got to work to produce our final film opening!

Although some troubles were faced like the rain and the car being crashed we were able to persevere and take advantage of what we had even if it meant we had to improvise. 

 Research: Production and distribution pre digital era

The need for production technologies – what was required and available?

- Required and available: splice and dice. We would need a 35 mm camera that would film on physical film. Each clip would have to be cut and placed together using a cutting and splicing machine. Footage was hand cut. There was only one shot to   get it right. Movies edited directly on film.

 

35 mm film 

https://www.cine2dvdtransfers.co.uk/blog/2021/08/09/how-were-films-edited-before-computers/

 

https://beverlyboy.com/filmmaking/how-were-films-edited-before-computers/

 

 

 

 What would it cost? Who would pay?

 

- The average film budget by 1978 was about $5 million - increasing 

dramatically to $11 million by 1980 due to inflation and rising costs. 

Typically, investors are the ones who pay and fund the movie.   

    

 

 If you managed to make it, what would you need to do to make it available?

-  We would need a place to film it, so a set technology and money.

 

How would copies get made?

 

- Two projectors would be used and the “projectonist” would have to load reel one and two to the otherand would switch them over. 

 

 https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/21175/how-were-copies-of-movies-meant-to-be-distributed-to-theaters-made

 

 How would it get into cinemas?

 

A traveling theatre showing different movies and shows

- It would get into cinemas by bringing the physical film to traveling theatres. These theatres would be composed of different directors and filmmakers that would travel by road to show their work and distribute it to a large audience. 

 

 Why would cinemas show it?

 

- Cinemas would show the film because at the time, movies were a different and new thing. Being part of a central trust  in collaboration with large films, then the movie would gain popularity. 

 

http://www.historyoffilm.net/movie-eras/silent-black-and-white-movies/

 

  How would people know it was there?

 

- People would know it was there because we would distribute and paste posters through cities to advertise that it is showing in theatres. Movies would also be advertised in advertisements shown before a film, indorsed ads shown in the theater. 

 

https://www.ipl.org/essay/Influence-Of-Film-And-Advertising-In-The-FKMVKJYKRC48R

 

 

  How would people see your film? What would their experience of watching it be? 

- They would see it in open of the theatres. If my film was to be distributed when films were just starting to be made it would be seen in black and white and might be a short movie. 

 

Planning: Props used for filming 

    The day of filming, multiple props were used to try and create the most realistic effect for the film opening. 

 

    I created and brought some of the main props used in the film that helped create a coherence between what was happening in the opening and what was being used. 

 

I used home ingredients to make the fake blood used. We had an issue with buying the blood since it would not arrive on time of shooting day and there was none in store nearby so I had to improvise. 

 

I searched up YouTube videos on how to make fake blood

 

 These were some of the videos I used but with some the blood came out looking opaque and for others I did not have the supplies necessary.

 

fake blood used 

I decided to create my own recipe and use ingredients I already had. I used Clear liquid glue that I had and mixed it with some water in order to make the consistence perfect, not too thick but not runny either. I mixed this with some red food coloring but the color was too red so in order to make the red deep, I mixed it with green food coloring until I got the perfect color and consistency to make it look like real blood. 

 

lunchbox with logo we had to cover 

I also brought a lunch box I had at home so that the killer could use to carry there blood and fingers. We had an issue that there was a company logo on the bag so we made sure that when it was being carried in the film the logo was always on the other side not shown on camera. 

 

In conclusion, I think that even though there were some obstacles with the props using my creativity helped create a solution to the problem. 

 Research: Genre in Final film opening worksheet 

    Today in class we completed an exercise to see how our films fit and broke contentions of our genre. These were my answers and explanations to each question: 

What  Genre  is your movie?  

 Horror/Thriller

What are the  Conventions of your Genre Selection ? 

Horrors and thrillers both create a growing tension and fear in them that leave the audience in suspense. They tend to include scenes with blood, death and aggression between people.

 

SYMBOLIC CODES

Setting? 

Set during the evening/ dark in a gasoline stop.

 

Mise-en Scene ? 

Props: a body part that falls from the trash bag, most likely a hand or finger

Camerawork: Using many types of angles like close up shots when focusing on the trash bag or establishment shot right when the scene starts to let the audience know where they are. 

Costume: For Sadie we are using dark colored clothing black and for Johnny we are sticking to a typical teen outfit, flannel shirt over some jeans. These were further explained in my other blog posts. 

 

Acting- Actors?

Sadie: Alexandra 

Johnny: Hugo 

We are using people from our media class to act in our film

 

Representation of Actors?   

Both of our actors are Hispanic so they will be representing the Hispanic community as well as a main character that is female representing the female community. 

 

Colour symbolism?

For the costumes we are using black for Sadie since it will represent suspicion and dark desire/ dark thoughts. The color black will be present through a lot of the film when outside it is going to be dark used to contrast the dark/ scary side with the good. 

TECHNICAL CODES

Camerawork?  Types of Shots, angles, length of shots?

Using many types of angles like close up shots when focusing on the trash bag or establishment shot right when the scene starts to let the audience know where they are. 

 

Editing?

Since I am in charge of editing, I still need to see how the shots will be filmed to know how I will edit the, together. I will be adding details like background sound and adding the title and rating of the film, I will also add the credits to run during the film opening.

 

Sound?  

For sound we are counting mainly on the sound produced in the film, diegetic sound. I light adds some sounds on top to enhance what was already produced like a bag of chips opening or footsteps.

 

Lighting?

For lighting I am also relying on the dark and the light from the gasoline stop to create shadows and show the suspicion and the sense of suspense. The contrast between dark and light is going add big importance to our film.

WRITTEN CODES

Printed language?  Titles?  Type of Fonts used? 

For printed language we are using darker letters  to represent the darkness that will be present in the film. Since another member of the group is in charge of the printed language they will know the specific print.

 

FORM CONVENTIONS  -

For this film we are following most conventions of horror/thriller by adding the suspense and tehe blood to our scenes. We drifted away from the convections slightly by making the main character the killer a female since the majority of killers in films are male. 

Expected  NARRATIVE

The narrative of the film will be that of an unconventional narrative. Since our film opening will stop in a suspenseful place and the audience will be left wanting more, it does not follow a conventional narrative. The film also does not start in a good place since it is already starting with an issue.

 

Audience Expectations :

The audience expectation is to feel a rush of excitement but fear at the same time since that is what the genre is suppose to evoke.

 

What is your screenplay’s ENIGMA? 

The enigma of the film opening is either body part which is either a hand or finger falling out of the garbage bag.

 

Are there any twists? 

Yes the twist will be the killer going over ot the body part and either holding it or keeping it in a creepy way.

 

Do these Correspond with the Audience expectations of your Genre?

In general the film opening follows the convention of the genre but the audience would be pleasantly surprised with the small twist and changes. 

 Research:Distribution and Marketing in Films

Midsommer 2019

 

In midsommer, one of the ways that the production company marketed their film is through product placement. Companies like apple placed their devices in the film to create funding as well as showcasing the upper middle class of the character. The brand north Face, Nike and New Balance also have product placement in this film. 

 

Apple computer in background 

sources: https://blog.hollywoodbranded.com/case-study-product-placement-in-midsommar

https://www.smarthousecreative.com/blog/2019/12/13/marketing-we-loved-in-2019

 

They also marketed their film with merch like pins and candles. Staring actors that are well known as Florence Pugh was also a great marketing strategies making the audience want to go and watch her in the film.  

Midsommer official merch 

Wonder Woman 1984- released during the Pandemic 

 

Wonder Woman 1984 was a movie that was produced before the pandemic but had to be released during the pandemic. This movie was one of the first major movies that released with HBOmax “day and date” strategies which instead of releasing the film in theaters, since they were closed, they had to release them through streaming platforms like HBO which did online premieres.

 

Sources: https://collider.com/successful-movies-during-pandemic/#wonder-woman-1984-mdash-166-million

https://cinematicslant.com/2020/12/23/wonder-woman-1984-marketing-recap/

 

They had to have interviews and press tours through zoom or online platforms in order to be interviewed in their own home. 

 

 

This movie was a sequel to the 2012 wonder woman, Patty Jenkins producer posted the first announcement on twitter in 2019 through a poster. Fans of the franchise were caught on this announcement.

Gal Gadot posted a tweet looking forward to the release even through the pandemic. Showing the gold outfit in the poster was a strategies movie to lure audiences into an “immersive experience” 

 

The movie was advertising and sponsored using media platforms like snapchat and creating a filter that was related to the movie.