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1. Our film will break conventions by having a deeper meaning and using a book to symbolize the social issue.. I want my film to convey the fear every girl has when going out and how we can be taken advantage of in situations we should feel safe. I want the film to look eerie and dark with some light throughout the shots before the girls get kidnapped to show peace before they get taken, which doesn’t happen in many horror films .These issues in our society involving women and their overall safety are MAJOR and often overlooked or ignored by the public eye. Representing these social groups and bringing attention to them is something really important to all women around the world.

2. If it were a real film when distributing our film independently I would first find my core audience, use social media, and prepare for a theatrical release. Eventually we would hope that our movie goes to streaming platforms but at first a theatrical release. Film festivals and markets are a great way to further market our film to the target audience which will profit the overall success of our movie. These festivals are gatherings of filmmakers in a specific region to share and showcase their work for the year. After we release in theaters we would love to have it go to streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Obviously these services are hard to get your film onto, so smaller niche services like BritBox or Shudder may be better options for our short films. By having a unique trailer and targeting people who are most likely to see our movie through social media on apps such as tik tok and snapchat, we would reach many people and engage them.

3. Development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution are all stages of film production. Each phase serves a distinct purpose, with the overarching goal of progressing to the next and, eventually, distribution. Each stage is different in length, and different roles are appropriate for each stage.Important editing lessons I've learned is to choose the appropriate software, cut on action, use cutaways to great effect, and don't bloat your edits. Color correction and gradation and audio should be balanced. Use these crucial cutting techniques and always prioritize the story. We discovered during the filming process that there must be time between when the scene begins and ends for editing purposes. We also had to change the cover of our book because it was incorrect. Finally, we had to redo scenes because they were blurry and out of focus, which taught us how to adjust our camera footage.

4. We integrated technology into our film by showing a tv and tv remote, and by using a car radio. Using technology is important to help overall modernize and connect our audience on a deeper level with things and content that they will understand on a deeper level. We used online software such as capcut to edit our final project, capcut is really simple and easy to use and gave us a great overall outcome. As far as hardware we used boomsticks to enhance the sound quality of our film. By doing so, piercing screams were enhanced and have more of an effect on the audience. Altogether this film was fun to make and I feel we did a good job creating and being creative during the process.

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Development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution are all stages of film production. Each phase serves a distinct purpose, with the overarching goal of progressing to the next and, eventually, distribution. Each stage is different in length, and different roles are appropriate for each stage.Important editing lessons I've learned is to choose the appropriate software, cut on action, use cutaways to great effect, and don't bloat your edits. Color correction and gradation and audio should be balanced. Use these crucial cutting techniques and always prioritize the story. We discovered during the filming process that there must be time between when the scene begins and ends for editing purposes. We also had to change the cover of our book because it was incorrect. Finally, we had to redo scenes because they were blurry and out of focus, which taught us how to adjust our camera footage.

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Blog Post Independent Distribution and Film Marketing

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Blog Post Independent Distribution and Film Marketing

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When distributing my film independently I would first find my core audience, use social media, and prepare for a theatrical release. Eventually we would hope that our movie goes to streaming platforms but at first a theatrical release. Film festivals and markets are a great way to further market our film to the target audience which will profit the overall success of our movie. These festivals are gatherings of filmmakers in a specific region to share and showcase their work for the year. Festivals provide filmmakers with the opportunity and platform to showcase their storytelling and filmmaking skills to the world. Film festivals we would attend would be New York City Film Festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, AfterDark Horror fest and or International Horror and Sci- fi film festival. Film markets are also very important and benefit your film. It is an excellent way for a community to advance the conversation by allowing people to explore various thoughts and ideas about art and issues. Festivals provide a vital community for filmmakers and artists to find supporters and collaborators which is essential for almost every movie. After we release in theaters we would love to have it go to streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Obviously these services are hard to get you film onto, so smaller niche service like BritBox or Shudder may be better options for our short film.

We choose to name our film “The Closet”. This title holds a lot of significance to the plot and overall storyline of the film. Viewers won't understand the title at the first couple of seconds but will see after about 45 seconds that girls are being kidnapped and throwing them into a closet. Having this title shows confinement and the vulnerability every girl in this world holds within themselves. Girls are often looked at as weak and frail, the irony of the book title being about how women should protect themselves is also a symbol of that stereotype. We illude to the fact that women even have to go the extra mile and read about how to keep themselves safe which is truly disgusting and unreasonable. Our title works perfectly for our movie by being vague and leaving room for questions before you watch. The closet could be about anything, and you have to watch to find out.

The tagline for our movie would be “coming out of the closet”. It implies current social norms, connecting with the target audience as well as perfectly describes the victims motives in our film. Online we would connect with our target audience by digitally giving them ads so they will want to see our movie. For horror movies that include women safety the target audience would be girls ages 13-18. These girls usually work normal jobs like cashiers or waitresses or have no job at all and attend middle,high school or freshman in college. Their interests include social media, shopping, hanging with friends etc. They care about their looks and often get insecure. They also care about their friends and family members.What is most important to them would be loved ones and school work. They are often apart of mental health organizations and love to support womens empowerment. When they are hanging out online they browse on tik tok and instagram and snapchat.

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WRITER
After having a revision script meeting, I changed many things that were crucial to the storyline. Before, my script had no deeper meaning and was extremely long. I concluded after my revision meeting that I needed to include less action and more context to the script. I specifically changed the genders of the characters to all girls. This is so it aligns with the main idea being how women's safety is often overlooked and a major issue in our society. My instructor suggested I  take out a portion of the people being locked in a closet and instead end on a cliff hanger to leave the viewer wanting more. An outstanding consideration or concern for my script would be that I won’t be able to make the kidnapping look believable or convey the overall message correctly.
DIRECTOR
I want my film to convey the fear every girl has when going out and how we can be taken advantage of in situations we should feel safe. I want the film to look eerie and dark with some light throughout the shots before the girls get kidnapped to show peace before they get taken. A movie that I will use for inspiration will be “ A party gone wrong” which came out in 2021. In this movie a mother must save her daughter from a young man who plans to sell her organs on the black market. I will use this for inspiration, specifically the scene when the daughter gets kidnapped. Costumes will be relatively normal and comfortable everyday wear, besides the kidnapper who will wear all black and a black mask to appear more scary. Colors will be dark and makeup may be needed to show cuts and bruises on the actors.

Specific shots I want to include will be extreme close ups and three shots. I want to get shots that show just how scared the women are which most likely will be extreme close ups. I want specific editing techniques like cross cuts and smash cuts. Social groups we will represent are vulnerable teenage girls who unfortunately need to defend themselves against men. This is an issue in our society and will be shown through our film. We will adhere to conventions by using typical horror movie shots, but break conventions by having a deeper meaning and using a book to symbolize the social issue. I intend to be open to what I want towards my actors but also consider and take into account their ideas as well. The best things are not planned and usually happen on spot while filming. All artistic ideas will be explored while keeping my vision alive by communicating what I want.

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In the first 2 minutes Sara’s parents and sister are fighting. The mother believes Sara is still out there, and her father completely shuts it down. You then see keys fall out of his pockets. The sister grabs them and goes into the basement, thinking he is hiding something. We see Sara locked in the basement, pregnant about to give birth. Kids are coming in and out to give her things she may need. You can infer that these are also her kids.

The genre of this film is horror/ psychological drama which conveys the events of a tragic true story. The target audience for this film includes girls and boys 14+. Since the movie is very graphic and intense it is not meant for kids.

The opening credits have light suspenseful music that add a confused tone.The title sequence has the title “Girl in the basement” written in red letters. Its font is bolded but looks tarnished and faded. I noticed an amazon prime video logo, since that is its distribution company. This appears relatively early in the opening credits and the actual title appears about 1 minute before the first scene starts. This aligns very well with the opening scene and the film in general since it is showing red, representing blood and fear. I notice how the film goes directly into fighting and suspicion against the father. You have to piece the context clues of the storyline that are given to you to understand the story which is why it's so psychological.

If I am being honest its cuts are nothing special and are fairly simplistic. It consists mostly of straight cuts or panning and tracking. This is mostly likely because the storyline is enough in itself and adding too many confusing and advanced cuts may take away from the plot. One specific shot that I noticed was when she was about to give birth the camera was tilted. This is because we as viewers are confused as to what is going on before we realize what is happening a little later into the movie. The movie begins with the dad, mom and sister fighting about where their daughter Sara is. It seems like the dad has given up and firmly believes she is long gone and ran away with her boyfriend. The mom could not disagree more and wanted to search for it. The sister looks like she has had growing suspicions about her dad and thinks he is hiding something. His keys drop from his pocket when he walks away and the sister grabs them going into the basement since he spends almost all his time in the basement. The dad comes downstairs and sees her looking around. He says “what do you think I am hiding her down here?” and the camera cut to Sara, pregnant, locked in her basement.

The sound is very clear, almost too clear. There is almost NO background noise occurring at all throughout the first 5 minutes and even into the first 10 minutes there still isn't a lot of sound present. The only sounds that are made very evident into the movie are sobs, screaming and the sound of the dad slamming and locking the door. The beginning sounds as if the shouts are louder than they actually are. The mom is crying and the dad is screaming. But the sister is silent and all you can hear is her breathing heavily. The keys clank onto the couch and the dads loud footsteps are heard as he walks away. The sister walking down the stairs is fairly loud and the other sister in captivity giving birth includes a lot of sounds such as her crying giving birth, the baby crying and her other children helping her.

By the end of the two minutes I felt disgusted and horrified. It wasn’t a typical horror movie with a fictional character, it was a true story that involved real people. Knowing that what was happening was real didn’t sit right with me at all. In all honesty, it is important to share true stories of survivors of captivity and such but movies like this are almost too real to create and be adapted into a movie. The events that occurred during just the first two minutes were truly evil and tragic which makes you feel for the victim and what she had to endure for over 20 years.

I would describe the editing style to be simplistic and confused. They wanted to convey weirdness and something out of order in a lot of the clips and shots they used. This helped make me feel more disgusted and fearful of what was next.

The first two minutes adhered to conventions by showing clear signs of mental illness, distorted sequences, dysfunctional relationships, odd behaviors, abuse in all forms and gore.

Every typical convention for such a psychological horror was checked off and used very well throughout the film.

They broke conventions by having the antagonist appear as a monster in the first 2 minutes instead of having him evolve gradually into the disgusting human being he is.

The first two minutes represented social issues by using a real story and telling people her story. This isn’t a typical situation for one to have to endure but sharing her journey and showing ehr we care about it is truly important to our society.

I think the film was distributed through amazon prime video because it is too graphic to show in theaters. If distributed on netflix, they wouldn;t be getting as much money as they want to receive since every movie is basically free besides the subscription. On amazon prime video you have to either rent or buy the movie along with paying for your subscription adding more money to their pockets.

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“Editing and Sound-Midterm Film” - Teenage Mind

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“Editing and Sound-Midterm Film” - Teenage Mind

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In Aice Media Studies we learned about editing, sound, and screenwriting/screenplay format in November and December of 2022. I researched film editing theories and produced documentation showcasing more than 20 different editing methods. Specifically the class viewed the documentary on film sound called “Making waves”. While watching this film we studied the fundamentals of sound and learned how to use sound correctly in film. Not only did we watch “Making waves” but we also viewed a video on the use of color as well as a documentary on film editing called "The Cutting Edge". Altogether we learned how to improve and intentionally use sound and color to represent specific things and or add a specific tone. As for script writing we read aloud the screenplay for "The Incredibles," This greatly enhanced our knowledge of film and how much effort and hard work goes into just one page of a script. After we read this script we learned how to structure screenplays using specialized software, and created a two-minute horror film beginning about someone having a nightmare. Within this assignment we had to incorporate multiple different crosscuts, types of transitions and shots like an extreme close up for example.

Our midterm movie is between one and two minutes long and contains horror or a form of horror hybrid. This film is an "opening" to an intriguing horror film rather than a whole movie within the 2 minutes. Instead of writing a basic nightmare, we had to add our own creativity and make it unique. This assignment contains hardly any conversation, and mostly just music, action and ambient sound effects. We must begin in black with the company name, logo and title then cutting or fading directly to the first image with three minimum crosscuts between the actor and the nightmare. It is required to be edited, recorded, and posted by the student alongside this blog post. Additionally, the movie must follow this criteria, one close-up, one dutch angle, one high or low angle, one low-key lighting setup, one pan, tilt, track, push, or spin around, one zoom or dolly zoom, one subliminal cut, one multi take, one smash cut, one match cut, one J cut, or one L cut, one use of slow motion or fast motion, one intentional use of color for story or emotion and one instance of intentional use of costume.

In my film, I adhered to many horror conventions and codes. I included unusual angles to create confusion and convey discomfort to the audience. I intentionally filmed at night to create a dark setting, with the use of this the viewer may feel tense. Quick, flashing lights, flashbacks and dark color palettes are some codes I decided to insert as well. The audience expects to have to piece the story together slowly and engage their own opinions into what they think will happen which is an element fulfilled. They want dark shots and such, which is exactly what I produced in my film. Although I did follow a lot of the basic horror conventions, codes and engagements, for my incidental music I picked a song that wouldn’t normally be featured in a horror film. We all know and love the classic song “Once upon a dream” however instead of it being sung happily and joyfully like how it was in “Sleeping Beauty”, it is sung by Lana Del Ray. Her voice being slow and powerful helps build a feeling of darkness. Taking such a globally loved song that has made people feel happiness and turning it into a negative feeling is a risk but adds a nice touch to the film. To create a jarring of uncertainty and shock this was the perfect song. I used a lot of lowkey lighting, but overall decided to start with my shots with high key lighting and have them slowly dim as the scene continues. Having high key lighting isn’t something you typically see but was extremely amazing to what unfold on screen. I originally got my idea for my character to see the future from a news article I had read previously about a British dance teacher, Miss Lorna Middleton. She had been living in Hollywood during the depression in 1914, but lost everything during this time and moved back to London. Middleton would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and have visions of the future before it happened. Once she woke up before a giant massacre and knew something terrible was going to occur. She was eventually examined by a psychiatrist who believed she had been having visions of the future, specifically visions she didn’t want to see. After reading her story, I just knew it would be perfect to include in my movie while adding my own twist to it.

I believe I was successful in this project's original and innovative elements. I put a lot of time and work into this piece to polish and improve whatever I could. The crosscuts with the background effects and red lighting were notable moments for me. I chose to add the flashing lights during the filming process by having my sister repeatedly turn the light switch on and off. Instead of manipulating the photo in post-production, I wanted to give it a sense of reality and authenticity. I will acknowledge that I need additional actors and to be certain of my script before shooting in future pieces. In order to be more organized, I will arrange and plan everything I need in advance. The following pieces of software were utilized throughout the development of this movie: arc studio for the script, my iPhone camera for shooting, a ring light mirror for high key lighting, YouTube for music, and Imovie for post-production editing. This assignment taught me a lot of new information. Before while watching movies, I was unaware that some elements were purposely chosen to evoke various moods and feelings. Now while watching Hollywood movies, I am conscious of the various kinds of shots and cuts as well as the immense amount of work that goes into each one. Overall, I definitely gained a lot of knowledge and a deeper appreciation for the film industry.

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In AICE Media Studies we reviewed and deeply studied the genres of film. We discussed the cinematography, conventions, codes and audience expectations through presentations. In each presentation we watched three 3 minute movie clips of films that fall under each category. We talked about thriller, war ,animation, comedy, musicals, mysteries, horror, superhero, romance, sci-fi, sports, drama, crime and adventure.With each film we watched some hybrid films as well. Hybrid films are attempts to merge different genres that may compliment each other. For instance, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” This movie is a Musical and an animation which go hand in hand.

Within the first quarter we completed two quality short films. The first film I created was adventure and drama with hints of mystery. We used conventions such as stories, characters, iconography and values. In our story the characters embark on a journey making our story be entirely resolved at the end of the film. This almost always happens in adventure films to make you have an idea of your own during the film. The characters had patience and intelligence as well as a major obstacle to solve and move past. We used props such as a golf cart to represent the iconography of adventure. The values of adventure such as being resilient is present in this film throughout the expedition. The setting being limited to the school courtyard was hard to represent the adventure but we made it manageable and had a great end film. Cinematography shots included in this film were panning, three shot, two shot, long shot, medium shots and tracking shots to show the adventure head on. In the second film we choose the genre drama. This film was better in terms of shots and cinematography as well as script. We used better developed equipment and put more thought into what each shot meant for the drama filled film. We included long shots, lots of panning and tracking, pov shots, tilted angle,and three shots. By using tilted down angles it gave the effect of someone being less than and or struggling as opposed to a tilted up which would show authority. Setting was also confined to just the courtyard, however it worked perfectly with the setting. Iconography used in the film was fighting and cheer outfits to represent popular mean girls in drama. We broke codes and representation of these genres being adventure and drama by adding comedy and extreme irony throughout the film to create a sense of comfort for the audience.

In my eyes, my favorite genres are horror and mystery films. Horror movies being hard to depict would be hard to create a script for. A potential story I would like to follow and create would be a horror movie about a new family moving into town. They get invited to a neighbor's house, skeptical at first, but follow through with the plans. When they get there they conclude that the family is psychotic and that they are trapped in the house. They have clues hidden around the house, but limited time to escape before they kill them all. Using skewed shots, three shots, tracking shots, pannings shots and pov shots you could create a sense of fear and unknown. By using iconography such as weapons, knives, blood and locks in the film we could create a detailed and exciting new short film. I would like to explore and include more pov shots as well as other conventions and codes.

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In AICE Media Studies my group was assigned to make a remake of one of my classmates' original films. Our task was to not only improve the overall plot and storyline, but to include 10 different shots and camera movements. The original film we remade was “Karma”. This film follows a boy who gets bullied by one of his peers. As the bullying continues the bully’s best friend recognizes his behavior and quickly acts on it by befriending the target. The bully is left with no friends and gets “Karma” for his actions. We improved this plotline by changing the gender of the group of teens, evolving the storyline and adding more depth and reasoning to the story as well as adding more people to the plot. We also added a fight scene to show the tension between the girls and create more suspense and shock for the viewer. My group and I used 10 different shots and types of camera movement, some being: Pan left and right, track in, zoom in,high angle shot, low angle shot, two shot, three shot, medium shot, long shot and over the shoulder shot. Our cast included Sophia as the bully, me as the target, tessa as the cool girl and Isabella as the friend of the bully.

Our storyline and overall film development was received well, what was not received well was our editing and use of shots and camera movement. Our editing needs to be more smooth and our sound and lighting needs to be better. However, being our first time using these movements we utilized and understood them fairly well. One of the movements we used was panning. This worked really well because since it did not follow the character directly like tracking, it created a subtle effect as opposed to dramatically tracking and getting close to the actors, it almost made you feel like you were a bystander watching. We also used zoom in, zoom in makes you feel closer to the actor. We used this when in the scene I was crying in, this gives a sense of comfort and sorrow for the viewer. Another shot we used was long shot. This shows you in full depth what is going on at a certain moment in time. With scenes like fight scenes this was important so you can see their full bodies and not miss or not understand something that happens.We were trying to achieve a typical mean girl fight and high school drama. Every gurl goes through drama and we wanted to embody it in a dramatic way so everyone can feel just how degrading it is for anyone who experiences its first hand harassment. One scene that is really important is the crying scene. It tracks in and goes towards the actor(me). It shows me crying on the ground and zooms into me, sobbing from the bullying. By tracking in towards me it gives the effect of someone passing by or walking towards me and zooming in (looking at me crying.) Overall I feel we evolved this story very well and enjoyed making it.

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This is my first film in AICE Media Studies this year. My group and I created a short film that follows a girl and her adventure trying to find her family Dog, Bruiser. The story starts off in the girls small town that she is so desperate to leave behind, soon she moves to New York and loses Bruiser. I edited, directed and starred in this film as the Dog. Isabella, Sophia and Tessa all starred in the film and wrote the script. Sophia being the main character, Tessa being her friend and Isabella being a background character.
I personally feel as though we could have had better audio and clear clips inserted in the movie.  For example, our sound has lots of background noise and people talking at the same volume as the actors. This made it hard to follow the story with so many distractions. We needed fluid movement in transitions and better camera work regarding angles of the shots. In some of the scenes people were cut out of the frame and couldn't be seen. With a evolved plotline, better clips, and clear audio the short film would've been a lot better.