Reflection Questions

I had a lot of fun in this class because I learned how to appreciate film as it takes a lot of hard work and creativity to translate an idea to film. So, thank you so much for giving me this experience I’ll carry with me for life.

Still Editing

So, we are currently still editing. We realized we have taken a lot of clips of the same scene, but this just means we have a lot of choices into which we’re the best ones. Genna had also been looking into how to do our movie titles. It’s quite difficult to figure out how to subtlety input titles, but we’ll manage. Plus we still have spring break to fix anything we dislike.

Also, the part with the texting that had Richine confused because originally we wanted to be able to show the actual conversation. However, it was difficult for her to shoot it without help. So, when we were together on Saturday at the park, we eventually just figured that good reactions and notification sounds would suffice.

Start the Editing

So, as previously mentioned in the last blog we had hoped everything went as planned. Well, it sort of did; Richine actually had trouble thinking of how to shoot the scene which involved texting. So, the filming of Thursday and Friday flew by, which we thought we would just have to do it all Saturday. But, keep in mind we all had something to do in the morning, so we thought we’re gonna do it around 4:00 p.m., but suddenly Richine’s car broke down too. And she was the one bringing the actors, so I had to pick her up on the way to the park. Somehow, they managed to all fit in the car meant for 5 even though we were carrying 7 people. Once we get there, we figured out how to film the text scene together. And, we continued as planned. But, the next bump in the road was the parents and kids in the park. They suddenly started to argue quite loudly over whos’ kid said what. So, didn’t want to move in the middle of filming, but surely didn’t want to get involved in that mess, so we just carefully checked the audio played back along our filming process. It was tedious, but eventually, we got it done. So, then the rest of the day and Sunday went as planned for Genna.

Now, that spring break is coming up we have started our editing process and Genna mentioned new features she’s found, so we are super excited to start. Also, with it being longer and having more complex shots we know this will take longer. But, in the end we all hope it’ll turn out better than we had hoped.

Prep to Film

First, we will go to Galleria Mall to film the beginning of the film. There, we’ll meet the actors that have volunteered to partake in the film. Also, we have kept in mind that we need certain shots like the following: establishing, eye-match, high/low angles. So, once we’re there we’ll think of how to shoot what we need in a more complex way.

The following week we will rent out a camera and tripod to keep from that Thursday till Monday. In this case, Richine will have time to film her individual parts in her time Thursday and Friday. Then, we’ll all meet at the park to film the interactive scenes. So. Genna may take the camera home to film the parts where she plans the murder, and to dump the footage of those previous days into her laptop. With all this planned out, we may only need one weekend to film. Plus, with the days we have time to edit the film.

Movie Title Research

The next research we were asked to do is for title sequences. Basically, how the titles are organized and arranged in the movie openings. We visited two websites which contains title openings samples, where we need to analyze them. We were allowed to do the movies that interests us or the movies within our genre. Since we can’t really find specific ones from our genre, we did a mix of both, the movies that interests us around our genre. Here’s what we gathered:

From the website Art of the Title:

  • Split:
    • The title of the movie Split has started with a much darker opening. Music used for the opening was very suspenseful and chilling. The opening uses clips from the actual movie in between, going from name to name while in the credits. When transitioning the credits, the editors actually uses split screens as transitions. The transitions looks like a glitch which makes it thrilling because anything can pop out. The opening also uses white text in a black background. The typography was sliced up in the beginning while presenting the credits. The fonts used for the names are large and all caps. The job titles, like directed by or producers, are smaller than the actual names. With most of the conventions used within the opening, it relates to the movie genre as well. The movie is a thriller and psychological horror. The intensity and suspense presented in the opening shows off much of a thriller movie. Also, the dark lighting and setting the characters are in contributed to the scary feeling the viewer feels. This one is very similar to common thriller movies, the level of suspense and build up to the movie matches the conventions of others.
  • Nerve:
    • The title opening started with upbeat music with colorful titles. Each title and names are in different graphic design. The organization of the title sequence makes it look like a screen recording, going through different apps. This one started by presenting the director followed by other credits, then the actors and actresses. It ended with the studio and production company’s name and the actual title of the movie. Every name contains a few different movements and designs, not just plain and serious. The whole thing did not include clips from the movie. The variety of ways the titles were introduced makes the movie suspense. The movie’s genre is thriller and mystery. The thriller part of the genre is not evident but, the mystery is, as it changes concept you do not have an idea of what is going to happen, the scenes are not unpredictable. It has a little eerie vibe due to the dark lighting and background with bright lights for the names. The fonts are all caps, the size of the letters are large and placed in the middle of the screen. This style mostly follows other thriller movies, besides the colorful graphics.

From the website Watch the Titles:

  • Crash:
    • This title sequence began with presenting the name of the studio first followed by the actors names and then the title of the movie. It ended with Directed and Produced By, which is the common order of the tiles. It did not show anything else other than the names with a gray font in a black background. The design is consistent for every title. There is a lights going across the screen from different directions each. The text zooms in the screen as it exits. The genre of the movie is drama, however the title sequence does not reveal that. It is more thriller than it is drama. As the texts were also accompanied by a creepy background sound. It does not express any sad feelings. This is not similar with other drama films because usually, there will be clips from the movie which highlights the story and also have a calming and sad music. The movies also typically do not have dark lighting, which this one does. Therefore, this movie did not practice those conventions.
  • Wimbledon:
    • This also started by presenting studio company and production company names. The texts are white in a black background. After a few seconds, the background changes from black to the sky, stating the actors names and the title of the movie. It is followed by more actors names in with pictures of the crowds as background. The titles also ended with Directed By. The titles were consistent in white text, the only thing that changes is the background. They used a style where each name on a different slide transitions left to right, this is continuous throughout the clip. There was an upbeat guitar sound in the background. However, knowing that the genre is romantic comedy, the sound does not match the romantic feels. Seeing the backgrounds also does not reveal that the film is romantic nor comedy. This means that the title sequence deviates and challenges the conventions of a romantic comedy film. The creative play of the images also did not contribute to meeting the conventions for that genre. The lighting is bright which is similar to other romantic comedies, as it brings a positive mood. Other than that, the conventions followed for this sequence is different with common romantic comedy films.

Movies that Influenced Me

The three we’ve been studying, Unfriended, Cyberbully, and Girl Fight, have all influenced our idea of our film in different ways. They all have similarities due to the genre of teen dramas, like the cliques, mean girls, jocks, nice guy, and the average or below then the standard girl. However they have differing plots that lead to a varying degree and type of violence, may it be physically or mentally depriving the main character. And, not every film will show the revenge taken by the targeted girl.

Unfriended huge difference is how they shot the whole movie was through a Skype call. So, instead of it being shot in a school like Girl Fight or Cyberbully they shot it entirely online off a laptop screen, which is very interesting. Also, it being more heavy on the violence too; with having hands blended, shooting themselves, and an iron being shoved down their throat, Unfriended takes the cake in violence. We may not take it to the same level of violence, but the thought of shooting it all through the lens of something else like phones or laptop cameras sounds intriguing. Plus, the thought of revenge sounds interesting too.

Girl Fight was also quite violent and kind of taking mean girls to a new level. How it turns from teasing, manipulation, and then to an extreme form of jealousy was its’ grand difference. Honestly, it was quite in the genres’ conventions, from the cliques, mean girls, nerds, jocks, and toxic environment of drinking and partying. But, the extreme jealousy may be what we take from it. Possibly depict the reason behind the mean girls may be due to jealousy. As Girl Fight showed it, jealousy is a big motive for violence onto others.

Cyberbully shines a light on the bad of social media (SNS). SNS was used in the movie as the gun or fist to the target, a nice girl, to expose her or spread untrue rumors. So, this is a definite to what will be in our film too. To use texting, calls, or SNS to fasten the story as information can circulate faster. Also, a easier way to show deception of true of fake feelings, like fake love or catfishing (someone posing as someone else).

These movies truly have pushed out idea of our film in different directions. To thinking of how to depict it, in a school, online, or half and half. Also, the motive for such unkindness to be shown to someone maybe something as petty and dumb as jealousy. Plus, they all have shown different ways our teens use technology now days from hacking to SNS. They have planted many ideas to grow from.

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