Shooting and Technology 101

Shooting Schedule

A shooting schedule is a detailed project plan that gives all necessary information about all the elements involved in a film making. It contains details about actors, locations, technicians, special effects, vehicles, animals etc. related to the production of a film. For my particular film, our shooting schedule goes as follows:

Saturday, March 2nd: 

     1:00 PM:  

Pierce Thomas (Director), Katelyn Wagner (Me - Cinematographer), and Robert Thomas (Actor) all are to meet up at Pierces residence and carpool in Roberts vehicle to our shooting location at Super 8 Motel in Tampa, Fl.

     2:00 PM:

Check-in time for our motel room

     4:00 PM:

Editor (Ben Isaacs) and Production Designer (Bianca Raby) are to arrive at the filming location to begin filming. Check-out time is at 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon, so we can stay as long as necessary to film.

Technology

During the production stage, we will be using lots of technology to make our film top notch. The most dominant pieces of technology are the cameras being used. We will be renting Mr. Engles Canon EOS Rebel T4i, and we will be using my personal camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T3i as well. These cameras are capable of full or standard HD video recording, have automatic or manual modes of focus, exposure, etc., and has a flip-out LCD viewfinder screen which makes the recording process much more user friendly. Along with that, the manual modes of the camera allow us to chose how we want the film to look and give us a much wider range of creative freedom. With experimentation, Pierce and I were even able to figure out how to create a rack focus on our cameras before filming. 

Along with the Canon's, we also used iPhones. Most of our cast/crew have iPhones, with my personal phone being the iPhone X, the most advanced out of the group. We will be able to use its high camera quality as a replacement for when complex shots are too hard to achieve on the Canon's (such as high angle shots, or when the camera cannot fit in the space we need to film from. The small iPhone camera will be of use.) Along with that, my iPhone X is very good with filming under low light, whereas the Canon's can struggle with quality under such lighting.

Lighting is also a huge requirement! We will be able to use our flashlights on our phones to get basic lighting that could even out or add shadows where deemed necessary. Along with that, Pierce and I have discussed collecting other forms of light. I will bring some handheld flashlights with a yellow/warmer light, and he will bring industrial lights which are used to light up fields outside at night. These also give off warmer tones of light, but give off a larger quantity of light at once.

Sources:

https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/shooting-schedule/

https://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/canon-rebel-t3i/

$ Official Script $

My amazing group member, Pierce Thomas, has officially typed up the script for our title sequence. Of course, it is subject to change as it's not perfectly set in stone and other factors could come up to create minute differences, but we do have a solid outline in place. Here is the script. I hope you get the same goosebumps I did!

Our Script #1

So my group and I have had many, many ideas on how we want to approach the making of this title sequence. As of right now, we do not have an exact script written in stone. However I did do some research as to what a typical movies script looks like, and what it entails. This is what I have learned:

1) A SCRIPT IS NOT JUST DIALOGUE

The script of a movie is more than just the dialogue for the actors. It also explains the actions they are supposed to physically perform, the emotions they are supposed to express, and even describes the mise-en-scene and cinematography that are to be used. It is an outline of the entire film, and should be written  in such a format that anyone can understand it. Alas, it should be made easy to visualize when reading it. 

2) A SCRIPT HAS A SPECIFIC FORMAT TO BE WRITTEN IN 

You will not find a script being written in Comic Sands font, and you certainly will not find a script being formatted the same as one might a book. A correct script will be typed up in Courier font, and is written in a vertical format instead of a continuous line from left to right like one may see in a story book. Why is it written in Courier font? This is because of timing issues. One formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen time. For example, a comedy that has 90 pages of script will run approximately 1 1/2 hours during exhibition. The entire document should be single-spaced, and the very first item on the first page should be the words FADE IN to show the introduction of the first transition. Along with that, the first page is never numbered. 

Here is an example of what a script should look like, with directions displayed as well to explain what each step means: 

I noticed how the characters names are always capitalized and placed above their line of dialogue when their line is up next. I also noticed when the character first appears in the scene, the characters name should be capitalized and a description of the character should be given. After that, the characters name doesn't need to be capitalized in the scene again. 

For my group and I, we do not have an exact script written yet, but as of right now I would assume the very beginning would look something like this: 

FADE IN:

INT. ROBERTS KITCHEN - EVENING

A large, messy kitchen in the suburbs of Florida. The counters are cluttered with dirty, used plates and kitchen wear. The kitchen is unkept with trash scattered on the floor. A dim evening light seeps into the kitchen through the dusty windows. 

CLOSE-UP of dirty kitchen sink as ROBERTS hands enter framing. He turns on the sink and scrubs viciously to wash seemingly clean hands.

Again, this is my own idea and interpretation of how the very beginning of the script will look. It is subject to change, and will definitely expand. Once my group and I decide on a final script, I will be sure to write about it on my blog to update everyone. 

Sources: 

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/American_Psycho_Harron_Turner.html

http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/a-glossary-of-screenwriting-terms-and-filmmaking-definitions.html

https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting/

Modes of Exhibition In More Depth

The way our film will be exhibited is vital to how successful our film will be. In terms of theatrical exhibition, we will be showing our film in public theaters as a wide release all across America. This is beneficial to our film because it will physically push our movie out into the hands of the public and will automatically increase the popularity of the film, even if it is a small increase. Along with that,  the fact that Universal Studios is our first choice as our distributor due to its 10-year first look contract with our production company Blumhouse grants us a greater chance at being successful with a theatrical release. This is because Universal is a powerful distributor, and can provide a strong marketing campaign for our film along with being able to work with good exhibitors who can help ensure a better chance of success for our film in the movie theaters.


Non-theatrical exhibition involves home-video, cable, streaming, etc. This will also be a great way for us to exhibit our film as people are gradually moving towards the preference of watching films from the comfort of their couch rather than going to the theatre (this is sad, I know. But bare with me.) By doing this we will be appealing to the preferences of our customers which will ultimately help the success of our films release. Thankfully for us, our second choice for our distribution company (if Universal rejects our film) is A24 distribution. A24 signed a contract with Amazon prime that concludes any A24 distributed film can be accessed on Amazon Instant Video after the film has been released on DVD or blu-ray. With this being said, we will be able to exhibit our film non-theatrically both by the usage of DVD's/blu-ray but also with on-demand video sites (Amazon Instant Video in this case.)


After some more research I have also decided that we should participate in non-theatrical exhibition through a film festival, such as the Sundance Film Festival. This idea came to mind after learning that Get Out (2017) premiered secretly at Sundance before it was released to theaters. This was a great move on Get Out's part as it helped to build up hype for the film before it was theatrically released. It also allowed the film to be known. It wasn't released fresh into the theaters without a reputation. Instead, critics were already raving about it, and it had an early start to a fanbase. This would be a smart way for us to promote our film while exhibiting it through non-theatrical means.

Source: 

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Exhibition-NON-THEATRICAL-EXHIBITION.html

https://deadline.com/2017/01/jordan-peele-get-out-sundance-film-festival-secret-screening-1201892361/

https://deadline.com/2017/06/exhibition-companies-create-global-cinema-federation-deal-industry-concerns-1202117382/

Branding Our Film

Originally, my group and I were not exactly sure what the "brand" of a film was. When I hear the word 'brand', I think of BMW, Chick-fil-a, and Apple. So how can this apply to a film? After some research, I learned that a big part of branding a film is done through the talent within the film. For example, nowadays when people see Liam Neeson starring in a film, it is automatically branded as a good action film. Similarly, when a movie is starring Kevin Hart, people expect the film to be a solid comedy. However, since we are making a title sequence on a (very) low budget, we won't be able to use popular Hollywood stars to brand our film. Luckily for us, we are making a thriller film, and this genre never requires stars to sell the movie. Yet we do need to use other modes of branding to be successful. We must create NEW brands in our film to sell it, sort of like how the Apple logo was new back in 1976 and no one knew about it, yet now it is a symbol of quality and innovation to millions around the globe. Note how the color scheme and general shape of the Apple brand stays similar no matter how many variation are created. The colors are classic and give an advanced feel, including steels, grays, whites and blacks. They all portray a partially bitten apple, demonstrating the unique brand of the Apple Company. In order for us to create our brand, we must:

1) Create a well designed title
2) Use a unique color scheme &
3) Make our own poster art

These are all vital aspects for making our film unique, and allowing it to stick out from the rest of the entertainment industry. It's just like how when you see a bat on a T-shirt, you know the person wearing it is most likely a Batman fan as they are representing that brand. For my specific   film, we have decided that the mysterious aspects of human eyes will be our brand, along with the enchanting quality of liquid water. Together, with a unique pastel color pallet, we are associating our film with nothing else except Lucid Elucidations itself. To demonstrate, we already have a movie poster design in mind, which can be viewed below, created by our editor Ben Isaacs.

The usage of eyes, water and pastel colors is enough to visually separate our film form others on the market. It is the start to our unique brand, in which we will be able to build a fanbase off of. Ultimately, with our film we are hoping to achieve a brand that is associated with abnormality, strange occurrences, and overall the compelling seduction of human secrets. It is a thrilling, addictive brand that we wish to achieve and create. 

Sources:
http://www.indiefilmacademy.com/filmbranding/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple/history-of-apple-steve-jobs-mac-3606104/

Film Pitch, Baby

Transcript for Film Pitch:

Plotline:
OUR FILM, LUCID ELUCIDATIONS, IS A MYSTERY/PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FILM THAT FOCUSES ON ONE MAN WHOSE PAST IS UNCLEAR AND HIS SURROUNDINGS EVEN MORE SO. HE DOESN'T REMEMBER WHO HE IS, LET ALONE WHAT HE DID. HE CAN'T REMEMBER, BUT HE NEEDS TO – AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT THE VOICES KEEP TELLING HIM. HE'S A PRISONER OF HIS OWN MIND AND THE FANTASIES AND ILLUSIONS IT WEAVES, CAUSED BY HEAD TRAUMA, INJURIES THAT LANDED HIM NOT ONLY IN THE HOSPITAL, BUT ALSO A MENTAL FACILITY. IN A WORLD WHERE THE LINE BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY IS INDISTINGUISHABLE, THIS FILM EXPLORES THIS MAN TRAVERSING THROUGH HIS MEMORIES TO FIGURE OUT THE TRUTH. NOT ONLY WHAT HE SUPPOSEDLY DID, BUT ALSO WHAT HIS MIND IS TRYING TO SHOW HIM.​

Our Production Company:
WE’VE CHOSEN BLUMHOUSE STUDIOS AS OUR PRODUCTION COMPANY GIVEN ITS SPECIALTY AND EXPERIENCE PRODUCING QUALITY HORROR FILMS ON A GENERALLY LOW BUDGET. BLUMHOUSE HAS PRODUCED MANY SUCCESSFUL HORROR FILMS SUCH AS GET OUT (2016), THE VISIT (2015) AND HAPPY DEATH DAY (2017). ALL OF THESE FILMS ARE SIMILAR TO OURS THEMATICALLY IN THE SENSE THAT THEY APPEAL TO THE VIEWERS SENSE OF  UNEASINESS AND CONTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS THAT PERTURB THE AUDIENCE. ​

Budget:
FOR OUR FILM "LUCID ELUCIDATIONS", WE WILL HAVE A LOW BUDGET OF APPROXIMATELY $5,000,000. WE DECIDED ON THIS NUMBER AFTER RESEARCHING SIMILAR  THRILLER FILMS PRODUCED UNDER BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, SUCH AS GET OUT  AND THE VISIT , WHOSE BUDGETS WERE APPROXIMATELY $5,000,000 EACH,  AND TRUTH OR DARE, WHOSE BUDGET WAS $3,500,000. WITHIN THIS BUDGET, WE WILL NOT BE SPENDING IT TOWARDS BUYING THE RIGHTS FOR THE SCRIPT AS WE WILL BE WRITING OUR OWN. HOWEVER, WE WILL HAVE TO SPLIT OUR BUDGET AMONGST OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS SALARIES FOR THE CAST AND CREW, CAMERA EQUIPMENT, COSTUMING, MAKEUP, PROPS, SET CONSTRUCTION, AND ANY POSSIBLE TRAVEL FEES SUCH AS HOTEL RENTALS, GAS, ETC., TO NAME A FEW. ​

Distribution:
AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO WHICH DISTRIBUTION COMPANY WOULD BE BEST FOR OUR FILM, 'LUCID ELUCIDATIONS', WE HAVE A FEW POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR WHAT WE WILL CHOOSE. WE FIRSTLY WILL PREMIERE OUR FILM AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, WHERE THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THE MOVIE TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND CREDENTIALS, SUCH AS AWARDS OR PRAISE FROM CRITICS. OUR CHOSEN PRODUCTION COMPANY, BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, HAS A 10 YEAR "FIRST LOOK" DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL PICTURES, ALLOWING UNIVERSAL TO GET THE FIRST GLANCE AT ANY NEW WORK FROM BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS AND DECIDE RATHER OR NOT THEY WILL APPROVE OF THE FILM OR NOT.​ IN THE CASE UNIVERSAL PICTURES DOES NOT APPROVE OF OUR FILM, WE CHOOSE A24 FILMS AS OUR SELECTED DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, AS THEY HAVE PRODUCED FILMS THAT FIT INTO A SIMILAR GENRE AS OUR FILM, SUCH AS 'THE WITCH' (2015) AND 'HEREDITARY' (2018), WHICH ALSO HAVE SIMILAR BUDGETS TO OUR FILM, AS 'THE WITCH' HAD A BUDGET OF $4 MILLION USD AND 'HEREDITARY' HAD A BUDGET OF $9 MILLION USD. DUE TO THE FACT THEY HAVE MADE LOWER BUDGET FILMS SIMILAR TO OUR GENRE, WHICH WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL ('HEREDITARY' GROSSED $44 MILLION USD WITH A $9M BUDGET), WE FEEL AS IF THEY WOULD BE OUR NEXT BEST CHOICE OF DISTRIBUTION COMPANY.​

Finance My Film, Blumhouse

An important part of the filmmaking process is getting your production company to finance your film. In this case, it has been previously stated that my production company of choice is Blumhouse. In order to make them want to finance my film, the first thing that should be brought up is that we only want a small budget (approximately $5,000,000 would be great.) It is well known that Blumhouse only produces low budget films, just to make sure they don't lose money if their films don't make a good candidate for theatrical release or simply don't perform well at the box office. By approaching them and making it obvious that I wish to stay within their low budget range, it would make them more susceptible to financing it. This, of course, paired with a pitch of my film that explains the basic plot, script and message I wish to achieve (all of which would fall under the thriller genre, much to Blumhouse's liking) should help ensure that they are willing to finance my film. In order to build suspense and a popular franchise, we could try to collaborate with popular Halloween venues such as Universals Halloween Horror Nights and Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream, creating haunted houses named "Lucid Elucidations" which can either 1) lure in fans after they watched our film from theatrical release, promoting the popularity of the franchise or 2) if the film has not been released theatrically yet, it would help build anticipation for the film once it is released. With the latter option, we would be creating a fan-base that helps ensure the possibility of the box office profit being higher than previously expected. Blumhouse has teamed with these Halloween brands numerous times before, so it is always a possibility. Along with that, the idea of cross-media convergence is always a great plan. We could mix our movie's pieces with other very well known advertisement brands on TV: A Ford commercial, McDonalds ad, or even an AT&T commercial could be easy ways to cross two products at one time, bringing awareness to them both but promoting our movie so everyone makes money.

Case Study: Get Out

If you have been following along with my blog, chances are you have probably noticed that I've referenced the 2016 hit film "Get Out" numerous times. This is partially due to it's brilliance in mise-en-scene, cinematography, and over-all suspense building characteristics, but a major reason is that this film is rather close to what my group and I plan to make with our title sequence. It is a low budget thriller film ($5,000,000) produced through Blumhouse productions, and I have decided to research it as it will help with the remaining steps towards creating our final project.

History/Target Audience: 

Jordan Peele, the director of Get Out, explains in an interview how he wanted to create "a horror-thriller for black audiences that delivered a searing satirical critique of systemic racism." The movie, intended to be a new branch in the thriller genre, was created specifically to show audiences something they have never seen before. Peele explains how he wanted to make a film directed towards black audiences by unearthing horrors even scarier than the supernatural or darkness, which he claims is portrayed too much in Hollywood. Racism, however, is so realistic and common, that the brutality it conveys in the film is scarier than any demon in a movie. Peele also wanted to make a film that made his black target audience happy by having a black lead protagonist who actually makes realistic decisions. Using "The Amityville Horror", he explains how the white family in the film remained in the house even after obvious signs that it was haunted. "A black family would have been long gone at the first sign of spookiness", Peele says. The goal in this film was to make black audiences feel understood and heard in the vast world of Hollywood thriller.

Production:

The film Get Out was shot in a surprising length of 23 days, in the locations of Fairhop, Alabama for 2 weeks followed by being shot in Mobile, Alabama for the remaining time. The filming went great as a whole but, as with any great movie, they did find some difficulties while shooting. One of the first struggles they encountered was with the "Sunken Place" scene. The director Jordan Peele & cinematographer Toby Oliver wanted to make it visually obvious that the sunken place was the working of the characters subconscious without using too many visual effects. To achieve this feeling, they used a technique called "dry for wet", which is what movies can use to make a scene look like it was shot underwater when it's really wasn't. To achieve this, one shoots on a dry stage with lots of smoke while shooting in slow motion. Then you use winds to ripple anything thats moving, to give it that feel of flotation. However, the crew of Get Out didn't use smoke; they wanted to make it seem like it was the characters subconscious, not underwater. The ending of the movie was also originally different than what we saw in theaters. At first, the ending scene consisted of a cop car pulling up, and it actually being a real police officer driving it, and Chris gets arrested for mass murder. This ending, however, did not go well with the test audience. They loved the movie up until the "sad truth" was exposed, and Chris gets thrown in jail, and treated like a criminal. This made the movie feel too generic, especially after all Chris had been through. After much debate amongst the ending of the scene, Peele decided to wipe the ending clean and reshoot it so a cop car pulls up, but instead of it being a real cop, his friend Rod comes to save him, and Chris wins. This ending tested much better with audiences. (The picture below is Cinematographer Toby Oliver's camera-and-lighting plot for the reshooting of Get Out's final scene). 

Distribution:

Originally, Get Out premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017. Following its premiere, it was wide released by distribution company Universal Studios in the United States on February 24th, 2017, grossing $255 million worldwide. Considering its budget was only $5,000,000, the film made a net profit of $124 million, becoming the 10th most profitable film of 2017.

Marketing:

Trailers for Get Out popped up out of the blue around October of 2016. The trailers appeared brilliant, and really caught onto the suspicion of audiences. They revealed just enough for us to know that Chris gets caught in sinister events, but we as viewers have no idea about the realistic yet horrific racial tidal wave coming our way. It was enough information, however, to make us want to watch it. There were tight-knit, 30-second previews played as TV advertising as well which were aimed at horror fans and got the buzz of the upcoming movie heightened.  Jordan Peele, famous for his writing and acting in the popular comedy duo series "Key & Peele" made it easy for reporting sites such as GQ and The New York Times to interview Peele and gain publicity about his upcoming film. Social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter also made it easy to spread around the hype of the movie and to buy tickets early to guarantee a seat in theaters. 

Above is one of the first trailers released to audiences for Get Out

Cross Media Convergence and Synergy:

For the release of the film, 3 time grammy winner Chance the Rapper bought out a theatre showing Get Out and just asked for peoples ID's before entering. The usage of a celebrity buying out a viewing of Get Out is enough to make people want to watch the film. If they know their favorite rapper loves it enough to buy out the whole theatre, then it will get people to go watch it. The movie also participated in many paid advertisements on popular sites such as Instagram, where many young people resign, to gain attention for the film.

Sources:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

https://variety.com/2017/film/news/jordan-peele-get-out-systemic-racism-1202604824/

https://www.vulture.com/2018/02/making-get-out-jordan-peele.html

https://christhilk.com/2017/02/21/movie-marketing-madness-get-out/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfpyUB60YY
https://theundefeated.com/features/get-out-lilrel-howery-rod-goat-best-friend/

Universal and A24 Films Distribution Company

After some research I learned that Blumhouse productions signed a 10 year first-look deal with Universal Pictures distribution company. This means that Universal has the right to have the first look at any new material Blumhouse produces before other industries get to see it. With this, Universal decides first if they want to distribute our product, which would be beneficial to us if a very well known distributor took in our film. However, if Universal does not work out, I decided that A24 Films would be a good match as a distribution company for my film. A24 films are first and foremost an independent company, which is beneficial to my project for many reasons. The most important thing is that they work with smaller budgets, such as their 2017 film "It Comes at Night", with a small budget of $5,000,000. Considering my group and I will not be able to afford a large budget starting off, a production company such as this is a great place to begin. The next factor that is important to consider with A24 being an independent distribution company is the fact that we will have more freedom with our film. While some distribution companies such as Universal and Disney require their films to follow strict guidelines when operating under their name, I will have much more freedom with how my film turns out under an independent distributor. This means we can make something much more unique, that touches new topics that we usually don't see in big companies' films. It is also of great importance to note that A24 Films has distributed many films that follow closely with my projects genre. For example, The Witch (2015) was distributed by A24 Films, falling under the horror/thriller genre and had a budget of only $3,500,000. The Witch is an abnormal film who's contents we would not generally see in larger companies, which follows along with how we plan to create something more along the lines of original.

Shown above is the trailer for "The Witch"

Our film we be exhibited in both theatrical and non-theatrical modes. In a theatrical standpoint, our film we be wide-released to movie theaters around the U.S., making sure that we do not exhibit the film at the same time as when a massive blockbuster plans to smash the theaters. From a non-theatrical standpoint, my film can easily be viewed through Amazon Prime with Amazon Instant Video. This is due to the fact that during 2013, A24 signed a deal with Amazon Prime where A24 distributed films can be accessed on Amazon Instant Video after becoming available on DVD and Blu-ray. DVD and blu-ray, of course, is another way my film will be exhibited, after it has already premiered in theaters. This way, people can enjoy it from home even if they missed the theatre dates. 

Sources:

https://www.infoplease.com/features/movies-tv-and-music/movies-and-film-production-distribution-exhibition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gud8viI-P7Q

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amazon-prime-a24-announce-multi-658584

http://lopezmedia.net/blog/4/10/2018-1

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amazon-prime-a24-announce-multi-658584

https://www.imdb.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_look_deal

Blumhouse Production Company

     Considering that my group and I are going to be creating a very low-budget thriller film, it would be best for us to use Blumhouse Production Company to produce our film. Blumhouse is known for producing low budget thriller/horror films, including but not limited to Get Out (2017), Truth or Dare (2018) and The Visit (2015).
   
     To start off, the extremely iconic film Get Out had a budget of merely $5,000,000, tying with The Visit who's budget was also estimated at $5,000,000. Truth or Dare had an even lower budget of $3,500,000, all 3 of which were produced under Blumhouse and were successful horror/thriller films. Together, they grossed approximately $439.62 million dollars worldwide combined. Blumhouse would be the ideal production company for our film because they specialize in low-budget filmmaking, which is exactly what our film is. Along with that, Blumhouse is very well known for making thriller/horror movies that become very popular and grow rapidly in America. This is beneficial to our film as it will help to ensure our low budget film will be able to gain a greater amount of viewings and thus a larger box office profit if it were produced under Blumhouse versus other low-budget production companies. We also plan on using Blumhouse because it is a smaller, independent production company. This is useful for our film because it gives us far more creative freedom to portray and create what we want on film, without having to worry about a large studio company such as Universal telling us what we can and cannot do. In this way, we can give our film a more unique and personal feel to it, and make it stand out. Along with that, since using an independent production company means we have a smaller budget, we will not require as much viewership to pay back costs of production. It won't be as big of an economic risk at the box office, but this also means we have a greater chance of making a profit since our budget is so low to being with.

 

Our choice of the production company (Blumhouse) will effect how audiences engage with our film in a positive way because Blumhouse is known to produce thriller/horror films. Though Blumhouse is a relatively small company, it is still well known for it's products, and will help shine a spotlight on our film because Blumhouse has attracted viewers after creating many thriller hits such as "Get Out" and "Split". Also, being produced under Blumhouse will help us to attract a younger audience, which matches with our target audience (which can be found in my "Who Shall Watch My Movie?" post.) of people aged 18-24. Younger people tend to watch thriller/horror films at a greater rate as they are more attracted to the suspense and violence present in them. Considering the simple fact that Blumhouse produces thriller/budget films, this works out perfectly.

Sources: 

https://www.imdb.com/

http://www.blumhouse.com/about/

                                                         

Do You Even Title Sequence Bro?

     When asking the question "Why are title sequences important in movies?", a bland person may respond by saying the typical "Well, because they give credit to the cast and crew of course!" However,  I think it is fairly obvious that there is more importance to the title sequence than making sure the cinematographer gets his name on the screen for 2.5 seconds. (That sounded shady... there's no shade here!)
     To begin, the title sequence is literally the first thing viewed in your movie. Those first 2 minutes (approximately) are the very foundations that leave a good or bad first impression on the audience about your movie. So the title sequence requires a lot more attention that one may think. A well functioning title sequence should accomplish these 2 tasks:

1. Set up the genre of your film

If I were to be blind-folded, guided into a movie theatre, and sat down to watch said movie without any prior context as to what the film is about, then I should at least be able to tell what genre the movie falls under after I watch the title sequence. If I'm exposed to outer space or advanced technology then I could, with plausible cause, assume I'm watching a sci-fi movie. But if the sci-fi movie starts out with 10 high school outcasts performing an A-level musical number on stage in bright neon clothes... and I wrongly assume I'm watching a musical... then the title sequence wasn't set up right! Title sequences are vital to exposing the audience to what they are about to watch, and should represent their genre with crystal clarity.

2. Foreshadow themes of the movie without overshadowing the movie itself

When watching a title sequence, the audience should be able to have a basic (yet detailed enough to gain attention) understanding of what is happening in the film. Or, better yet, some title sequences even foreshadow events that we can't connect immediately. But once the movie is done, we are left admiring the title sequence for how it handed us so much vital information who's extreme value was just not quite understood yet. The details exposed in a title sequence should be enough to engage the audiences attention and have us wanting more information. It should keep us glued to our seats, spoon feeding us just enough to make us stay and watch. Along with that, when making a title sequence, many things should be considered, such as typography (red writing to evoke fear in horror?), color pallet (bright and colorful to show ambition and happiness in musicals?), and even cinematography (high/low angle shots to show power in action films?) should all accurately evoke the right emotions within the audience which filmmakers wish to create. 

Here is an example of a good thriller title sequence within the 2018 thriller film Bad Times at the El Royale. 

This was done quite well for many reasons. First, I immediately get the sense that this falls under thriller because we are exposed to the character tearing up his hotel room to drop a mysterious red bag under the floorboards. This raises immediate suspicion, and foreshadows future events in the film, which is enough to keep the audience glued to their seats. We also witness many jump cuts throughout the title sequence which very effectively conveys the feeling of urgency present in the film. The ending, which shows the character getting shot, makes the audience question why he is getting shot which once again leaves us yearning for further information. Notice how hardly any information was given away and the movie itself was not spoiled before it began. Instead, we were given small glimpses into the world of the film which were enough to tell us the basics of what is going on, and make us want to know more. I would also like to acknowledge its proper usage of sound. We were exposed to on-screen diegetic sound coming from the radio, which sounded rather upbeat. Yet it was accompanied with action on screen such as the mysterious bag hiding and the spontaneous, unexpected murder. This gives off a sense of irony, directly spooking the audience.

Sources: 

http://what-when-how.com/motion-graphic-titling-for-filmvideo-and-the-web/the-purpose-and-functions-of-a-title-sequence-title-sequences-function-with-form-motion-graphic-titling/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_vWIwNTr_0

I Love Me Some Non-Diegetic Sound!

     The importance of sound in a film is one without comparison. There are many factors that add meaning to a film that only sound can produce, such as using non-diegetic sound, on screen sound, and dialogue (to name a few). Generally, sound is used to show the audience how filmmakers want viewers to react to their movie. Are you supposed to feel scared? Relieved? Curious? Chances are, a films score will give you all you need to know, and have you reacting exactly the right way.

     Personally, my favorite sound to analyze is non-diegetic sound, because of how effectively it evokes emotion while being so stealthy. Half of the time when watching movies, you hear the non-diegetic sound, but you don't realize all of the effects it has on the current action shown on screen. To prove this, here is the famous "Get Out of The Water" scene in the 1975 Jaws film. 

Within this clip, there are many factors of sound that are used to create a sense of emotion. We can hear on-screen, diegetic sound when the ocean waves crash to help us feel a sense of peace and calmness. When the children and adults both begin to yell and scream "get out of the water!', this usage of dialogue allows us to understand the state of panic occurring within the minds of the audience. The most impressive usage of sound in this clip, however, is the usage of non-diegetic sound starting at 1:32 - the iconic sound motif associated with Jaws the shark in all of the Jaws movies. As soon as the audience hears this, we instantly are suspicious and then immediately anxious, assuming that impending doom is soon to come. This sound is specifically used for the audience and to get us to react to the film, and the characters in the movie cannot hear it. Another interesting trait about the non-diegetic sound beginning at 1:32 is its usage of loudness. It starts off rather quiet yet still audible, but then proceeds to become very loud right before the attack, showing that the louder the sound is, the closer death is. Could you imagine if, leading up to the shark attack shown in the above clip, the scene had been quiet? We would not have felt nearly as scared as an audience, which would have taken away from the overall feel of the film.

Here is another great example of the importance of non-diegetic sound in Jaws. The first part of the clip shows this scene without any background music. Then, the second half shows the same scene but with background music present. The emotions felt when watching the former and the latter differ greatly. In the first half, we don't know what to feel as viewers because the scene feels bland. Instead it feels more like real life, because we don't actually walk around with a soundtrack following us every day. However, in movies, we basically demand it to be present. It shows us the gateway towards what to feel, which is why in the second half of the clip, we first feel anxious waiting on the men to tie up the bomb and to shoot the shark,  followed by a feeling of relief after the mission was completed successfully, all thanks to the power of non-diegetic sound, and sound in general in movies.

Sources: 

http://thecinematheque.ca/education/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/LanguageofFilm07.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW23RsUTb2Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae1Z_fWDZ7s

The Upmost Importance of Font

Titles are essential to a films overall connection with audiences. The way titles are portrayed help to evoke certain emotions to viewers, such as fear for horror movies or humor for comedies. For the thriller genre specifically, fonts are usually abnormal. Rather than appearing professional like Arial, Times New Roman or Helvetica fonts, titles in thriller films are typically built to create a stronger, immediate sense of fear or suspicion.

To start off, lets first evaluate the very popular Netflix original phycological thriller "Black Mirror". The title for this was deliberately made to appear as if it was cracked from the glass to promote suspense, which directly follows along with the emotions a thriller movie tries to create. Along with that, the show "Black Mirror" uses a customized edition of the Sans Serif font, to show the creepiness of the show. Note the white color as well, and how white gives off a sense of new creations and futuristic technology. Imagine if the font was in Comic Sands, and was hot pink... we would no longer be drawn in by the thrilling and suspicious factors of the title, but we would instead be fooled into thinking it's a chick flick about mirrors! The size of the title is also of importance. It is big enough to read and enough to draw in our suspense, but not too big as to be overwhelming, such as what we may expect from action movies.

 To the right I have the movie poster for the popular 2018 thriller film "A quiet place." Once again, we notice a lack of common professional fonts such as Times New Roman or happy fonts such as Comic Sands, but a new, spookier looking font. It appears sharp and rugged, which helps foreshadow to the audience how there will be a possible fight for survival within the film, building tension without even watching the film. Also, the color scheme of the font is similar to that of "Altered Carbon" with the usage of white which shows a sense of newness, indicating the film has a new and unique environment for the audience to explore, promoting suspense. However, the usage of red in the font color mixture should be noted as well, as red demonstrates violence and points towards the more mysterious and gruesome parts of the film present.  The size is also very similar to that of "Altered Carbon", as it is big enough to read, yet small enough to draw in suspense and has our eyes draw themselves to the picture at hand.

Following these, I decided to analyze the title sequence for the 2013 thriller film "Limitless". Within it, I noticed that the information in the titles included the cast/crew names and the roles they played. For example, I could use this information in my project through crediting my partners for their work by putting "Editor - Ben Isaacs" in my title sequence. Another thing I noticed was that the credits were not placed perfectly center frame but instead were put more towards the bottom of the frame. This is done to ensure the audience can focus on the images and action portrayed on screen rather than them being distracted by the fonts. It will be important to ensure my titles are around the edges and not center framed when making my own title sequence. It was also evident that the titles for the roles each person took on was smaller than the name of said person. For example, in my project, we could say "Production Designer - Bianca Raby". (Preferably written horizontally and not vertical, of course). 

My sources:

https://venngage.com/blog/font-psychology/

https://fontsinuse.com/tags/2150/thriller

https://www.slideshare.net/BenAmbrose2/fonts-in-thrillers

http://www.artofthetitle.com/feature/top-10-title-sequences-of-2018/#

Who Shall Watch My Movie??

The intended audience for my film is mainly young women aged 18-24. This is because 57% of females prefer to watch thriller movies whereas only 43% of males do. Along with that, a younger audience is more inclined to watch movies involving twists, suspense and possible graphic content than the members of older generations. To further this, the majority of Americans only go to the movies a few times per year. To ensure my movie has the best shot at the box office, I will make sure to do research as to when huge blockbuster films are to be distributed to the theaters. Considering my movie does not have a large budget or famous actors, I will have my movie play at the theaters when there are no blockbusters playing, or a low amount of them, so my film has a greater chance at being watched. Also, considering that most people aged 18-24 are big social media enthusiasts, I will make sure my marketing consists of advertisements on popular social media accounts such as releasing videos on YouTube, and possibly advertising on sites such as YouTube or Snapchat to gain a young audiences' attention. Lastly, since most people aged 18-24 also have jobs, I would get the theaters to play my film at nighttime to ensure most of my audience could attend considering most people work day shifts. This way I would have a more successful box office profit.   

Within my genre (thriller) there are many common forms of representation as well. One of the most dominant factors that can easily be picked out is the representation between gender. Females tend to be portrayed as pretty beings who are subject to bad fate, and are sought to be "easy bait" in thriller films. With the assistance of mise-en-scene (costuming, hair style, etc.) women usually dress in a seductive fashion or wear lots of makeup to make themselves victim to male gaze and to increase their sex appeal. Along with that, women are usually seen as weak, and are either caught in a bad situation (kidnapping, murder, etc.) or are saved by a man before anything too extreme happens. This leads into the representation of men in thrillers. Males are usually seen as quite the opposite; they are leaders, they are strong, and they don't need any saving. Usually a male is portrayed as 1) the strength-fueled protagonist who saves the day or 2) the notorious antagonist who cannot seem to be stopped due to his power. A strong example of this would be the iconic low-budget film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. Within it, there is a very well known murder scene which can be viewed here. We notice as viewers that the female protagonist was portrayed as someone who is beautiful and weak rather than strong or a leader. Moments after getting in the shower, we watch as antagonist Norman Bates (male) enters the bathroom and slashes the female to death with ease, all while the female struggled for the entire duration of the slashing.

Another representation that should be noted is the representation of race. African Americans are usually portrayed as strong beings in a physical state (large muscles, athletic, etc.), but they can also be portrayed as a less superior race and as inadequate. This is especially true when African-Americans are playing in films with a strong white-race center, as the white people tend to be represented as the "leaders" and as powerful socially. A very strong example of this is the very popular 2017 thriller film Get Out scene "Chris gets his revenge on the Armitage family" which can be viewed here. Within the scene we see both a representation of whites appearing superior to African Americans but also we see the representation of African-Americans being a very strong race. In the beginning it is evident that the film made black people less superior to whites as the black man Chris was tied up in a chair and had to fight white people mercilessly to get free. However, Chris was able to successfully defeat every white person who came in his path, showing African-Americans being represented as very strong beings physically.


Sources:
https://www.filmsite.org/psyc.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Lx4Yb8cNw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WtDmbr9xyY

Thriller for the Win!

So after some more discussion, it appears that my group would rather create a thriller title sequence than a horror one. So, I've decided to analyze another thriller title sequence from the hit thriller movie "Split" released in 2016 (Link). Right from the start, I noticed a representation of class.

To the left, we can see a group shot of 3 characters standing together, who gave off a stronger "wealth" vibe than our main protagonist, shown in the next image. These 3, with the help of mise-en-scene, show higher class with the usage of more formal clothing (costuming) and more expensive looking hairstyles

In the background, we can see the main protagonist standing all alone. She gives off a "lower class" vibe as her costuming is loose fitting and darker than her higher-class counterparts. She is also standing alone while the other 3 stare at her from a distance, making it appear as if the higher class are judgemental, and the lower class are outcasts or lonely

Here, this thriller uses common horror-genre cinematography, but uses it to build suspense instead of to evoke fear. In this screenshot, we see the character staring right into the "camera", or in the context of the scene, the character is making direct eye contact with the antagonist (POV shot from the antagonist). POV shots are wise to use in horror or thriller movies because they place the audience right in the characters shoes and in the middle of the action

Pictured here is another POV shot, this time from the eyes of the main protagonist within the car. Again, this POV shot was used to evoke a sense of abnormality and get the audience on the edge of their seats, but it is not used to create fear. This title sequence does a very good job at introducing a thriller movie because it shows minimal action (through gassing the teenage girls in the backseat until they pass out). It is enough to tell the audience something abnormal is occurring, and is enough to get the audience suspicious, but does not generate great fear, as opposed to horror. Instead, it gets the audience to ask "why?", and sets up the events for the rest of the movie

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhVYKO22FjU

Horror vs Thriller... Which Will it Be?

So after some discussion, my group has discussed the possibility of creating a title sequence for a thriller film rather than horror. Initially, we had thought horror and thriller were pretty much the same thing (with some minor differences) but with some research I found that they do have their own separate characteristics which make them unique from each other⇩⇩⇩Here is the link from which I got my information. (Link)

Thriller:

• Psychologically scares audience
• Aims to make the audience question events and contemplate what they just watched afterwards
• Occurrences are more realistic
• Typically contains a twist or a mystery; aims to make the audience feel shocked or "on the edge of their seat", not horrified

Horror:

• Aims to scare the audience by scary masks, gore, torture, etc.
• "Jump Scare", makes the audience scream or shake from fear
• Revolves around repulsive or horrific occurrences
• Aims to make the audience have nightmares
• Less realistic events (coming back from the dead, possessions, etc.)

In order to prepare for the possibility of our project following more closely to a thriller, I've decided to analyze the title sequence from the thriller movie "Get Out". From personal experience, I know that this film definitely scared me psychologically. I wasn't horrified after leaving the theatre but instead I was contemplating and questioning what I had just watched, because the events seemed extremely realistic yet so twisted... it "thrilled" me.

The most noticeable detail about this thriller title sequence is that the events give off an extremely realistic vibe. First, we have who we can identify as the protagonist walking down the street at night time in the suburbs. The character was talking to his girlfriend on the phone, his costuming was very casual, and even his actions represented normality as he turned in the other direction once he noticed the car was following him. This differs sharply from horror films as they typically aim to scare you immediately with a spooky, isolated setting, creepy characters/makeup/costuming, or just presenting events that would be identified as unrealistic yet still scary. This clip, however, appears very realistic. But right from the start we as an audience are questioning the events, such as "Why is this car following him?" "Why is the driver door open?" "Why is this man being drug unconscious into the back of a car?" These questions pop up as a result of the film's events purposefully trying to get into our minds and have us wanting to know more information. Yet we're not scared, just simply full of suspense. Another aspect of this clip that sharply differs from horror is the lack of violence shown. We know by context clues that the protagonist was strangled and drug into the trunk of a car. However, we did not see any actual violence: low key lighting was used so we could not see any signs of suffering on the protagonists face, no weapons or dangerous props were shown and no blood was splattered. A horror film would typically amplify these aspects to make the audience feel fear. In this case, however, we are asking why did this happen? Along with that, sound was used in a different way as well. Horror films tend to use spooky ambient sound such as footsteps or non-diegetic sound to make the audience feel fear towards what will happen next. In this scenario, we saw onscreen, diegetic sound coming from the stereo in the car. The music was upbeat and happy rather than eerie, which makes the audience thirsty for more information.