Planning: Story 2

     Welcome back to the blog, today I discussed the story for our film introduction with my group. We decided to make a couple changes in order to make the overall film easier to film. Theses changes include replacing the puppet with a stuffed animal as the creation of a puppet would be much too complex for our timeline. We decided that buying a  stuffed animal would be a much more effective option to suit our specific needs. We drafted up a complete outline of our story however it is still subject to changes, I have included it below.

-Opening shot a man cleaning out a place

-He opens a box containing the stuffed animal

-He picks up the stuffed animal and places it on a shelf

-He goes back to cleaning

-He opens another box and the stuffed animal is in it 

-He looks puzzled and places the stuffed animal into a box and tapes it shut

-He goes back to work  

-He moves something off a shelf and stuffed animal jumps out and kills him

-Black screen

-Another man is taking boxes out off table 

-Picks up same box that has stuffed animal in it 

-Carries out the box out the door

-Black screen 

-Title

    This story would incorporate fit the horror film well as it includes a jumpscare and foreshadows for what the rest of the film would be. However this story does include some downsides as it can turn out visually uninteresting due to its limited action. Tomorrow me and my group intend to make the necessary changes to the script and finalize the story while also starting working on creating a more detailed storyboard as we intend to begin filming next week.

Planning: Props

    Welcome back to the blog, today me and my group discussed what we would need for our film introduction and the props required. Since we are using a puppet we need make one or buy one. The benefit of making one is that it would be much more original and customizable, however it does seem to take a decent amount of work to properly make one. There is also the cost of materials required to make the puppet as we would need to by fabric and other supplies. We may also buy a premade puppet, this comes at the cos of some originality but it makes the overall process simpler. We will continue to weigh the options on weather we are going to make or buy a puppet in the coming days. The other props we would most likely need is a flashlight, simple costumes, and possibly fake blood. All of these are relatively easy to obtain as we already have most of them.

The type of puppet we would most likely purchase.

   The idea of using a puppet is still on the table as we finalize the story. Over the next few days we will finish our story's outline as well as begin to obtain the necessary props.

Planning: Story

     Welcome back to the blog, today me and my partners discussed the final story for our film introduction. After deep discussion we settled on creating a horror film intro about a puppet that come to life and terrorizes the characters. To do this we would have 2 characters be running from the puppet and one of us be controlling the puppet. This could serve to be an effective film introduction as it will use interesting shots in order to properly fit into the horror genre. This is different from the options in brainstorming as both of them were much too complex to film. Over the next couple of days I intend to discuss with my group and create a basic outline for my story.

Planning: Story Brainstorm

    Welcome back to the blog, today I begun brainstorming for the plot of our film introduction. One of the ideas I came up with is to create an alien themed film. To do this we would make a story about a unknown creature appearing, this can be achieved by using a costume or computer effects. This would make for a good film introduction as it would fit into the horror genre. It would also be relatively easy to film as all it would need a costume to create the alien, or we could use computer effects in post production to create the alien.

 

    Another idea is a psychological horror film. The plot focuses on a character experiencing strange events, making them question their sanity. It would include creepy visuals, eerie sounds, and a focus on the protagonist's psychological journey. Setting it in a normal environment that becomes disturbing can make it more immersive.

    

    These are just a few of the ideas that I came up with. In the coming days I intend to discuss with my group and choose what type of intro we will be creating so we can begin planning the narrative.

Planning: Location

    Welcome back to the blog, today I begun planning for the location for our film introduction. There are various good candidates for the filming of our film. The main place we will film is our school. This would give us access to the professional cameras that our school provides as well as allowing us to get help for any difficulties that might arise. More locations that we might film at are our houses as we can use the backyards in order to get nature scenes. We will also be able to use props that we have at our houses to enhance the film. Using these locations I believe that we will be able to create a captivating film introduction.

A picture of our school where we can film.

Project Proposal

     Welcome back to the blog, I am Musa and I am working with Rayan and Gino. For my project I am doing the film introduction as I find the process of creating films interesting and want to learn more about the process that goes into creating them. Our target audience would mainly be those interested in horror movies as that is what we are creating. We plan to use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the film introduction and use a camera to film it.

Research: Framing

    Welcome back to the blog, today I researched the framing of a film in order to make sure while we film our film introduction, we are able to create pleasing shots that add to the overall theme of the film.

    There are 2 main parts of a shot, the subject and the background. How much of the background is shown can affect how the shot looks and feels. Wider shots allow more of the background to be seen while tighter shots focus on showing detail of characters or objects. Wider shots can create more of a neutral tone that focuses on revealing the environment to the viewer. On the other end, tighter shots can be used to highlight the detail of  a character by focusing more on them rather than the environment. The depth of a shot can also be used to increase the viewers attention on the subject. The depth is the distance between the subject and the background. The more depth in a scene causes the background to become more blurred, shifting the focus onto the subject. The less depth leads to less blur in the overall scene causing it to appear more flat. For our film introducion I intend to start with wide shots in order to allow the viewer to see the overall scene but later in the introduction use tighter shots with more depth to focus on details that will coincide with the overall horror theme and sell the horror effect.

Shot from Silence of The Lambs showing a tighter shot. 

    Focal length serves an important purpose of changing how a shot looks, the higher the focal length the less distorted the image looks while also being much more focused. The lower the focal length the more that the image is distorted but more can be seen.

An image showing the effects of the different focal lengths.

    The rule of thirds is a way of formatting the shot in order to make it more visually appealing this is done by splitting the shot up with a grid. The main points of interest are placed at either the intersections of the grid or on the grid lines. This helps to create a pleasing image while focusing the viewers attention. One way that this can be done by creating a horizon where the the shot is unequally split in half to place the horizon line on the grid. This helps create a nicer image that helps to focus the viewers attention. For our film introduction we can use the rule of thirds in order to properly place the subject within our shot so that it achieves the maximum attention.

Image form The Joker showing how the rule of thirds can be used to enhance a shot.

    With the basic framing principles I believe that the we will be able to create an effective film introduction that is visually pleasing to the viewers while also being able to convey the horror theme.

Below is a list of sources that I used to obtain research:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPqDPhx-EI
• https://www.first.edu/blog/film-video-industry/the-6-basic-framing-shots-for-filmmaking/
• https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/types-of-camera-shot-frames-in-film/

Research: Editing Software

     Welcome back to the blog, today I researched how to use the editing software, I need to know how to use it as I intend to use it in order to edit my film introduction. The software I will be using is Adobe Premiere Pro as it seems like a great tool to easily edit my film introduction.

 A image of Adobe Premiere Pro's editing dashboard labeling all the parts.

   Various clips that we record for our film introduction can be inserted into the software in order to compile them for the final film intro. To insert them I gather all the clips in a folder and simply drag it into the software's project panel. Than I can use those clips and organize them in whatever order is needed. It will also allow me to edit the length, speed, and various other properties of the clips. To use the clips I drag them from the project panel into the timeline panel. From there I am able to reorganize them and make necessary adjustments.

    I would also want to add text to the film introduction which can be added by using the text tool located on the tools panel. Premiere Pro allows for the addition of a variety different fonts allowing me to choose the correct one for the film introduction. It also allows for effects to be added to these fonts by using animations, this would allow me to give the text a fade in or change in size as well as various other effects. To achieve this I would first add my text to the film then add keyframes onto the different properties attached to the text such as the size or color.

The steps needed to add keyframes to text.
 

    Using these simple elements of Premiere Pro's wide range of tools I believe that our film Introduction can be highly effective. I intend to continue my research over the coming days so that I will be ready to start the creation of my film introduction.

Below is a list of sources I used to conduct research:

• https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/user-guide.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUlpbue-Gw0
• https://spotlightfx.com/blog/adobe-premiere-pro-tutorial-a-complete-beginners-guide

Research: Target Audience

    Today, I did some research on our target audience for the horror film we’re creating. Since horror often deals with intense themes, suspense, and sometimes graphic content, it makes sense that our core audience would be more mature. Based on similar films, the ideal age range for our viewers would likely be between 18 and 30 years old. By understanding who we’re making the film for, we can better tailor the movie itself so that we reach the right audience in the right way.

Research: Sound

    Welcome back, today I dive into the effects of sound on a film's introduction. The sound of a film is a highly important part of crafting an effective film introduction. The sound of many popular existing film introductions has been carefully chosen to properly match both the visuals of the scene but also the overarching theme.

    Music can be played throughout the introduction in order to signify theme and build up the tone of the film. The music being played can vary heavily between films to fit the films certain needs, for instance some films require lyrical, punchy, pop music in order to match the action of the scene. An example of this is in Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where the song Mr.Blue Sky is played atop the action of a battle scene taking place. This music perfectly matches the film as it not only takes place for just the audience but it also occurs and responds to the visuals, it gets stopped as the cassette player unplugs from the speakers and starts back again when it placed back. I don't expect this type of music to be in our film introduction as it does not fit the horror genre well however, its main principle of incorporating the music into the film can be applied into our personal film introduction. 

Introduction of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 where speakers and cassette player seen "playing" the scenes music.

    Another type of music that can be used within our film introduction is a more simple instrumental kind. This can be seen in Halloween as a signature instrumental score can be heard. This music fits the film perfectly, it adds the element of horror with its creepy tones and noises while also being musical. This can be applied in our own film intro as we can cooperate horror music in our film intro to add to the scene's ambience.

The opening of Halloween playing creepy instrumental music. 

    This approach is far more likely to be used in our final project as it allows music to be part of the film intro, while also matching the overall theme of the film.

Here is a list of sources I used to conduct research:

• https://screenrant.com/best-pop-music-opening-movie-titles/