As we were rewatching our short film as a class, I liked a couple of things. First the plot was good, then we got a couple of the locations for the film, we included a couple of characters and a couple of the events which were sending different tones. It seemed dynamic. Also the acting skills seemed as they are not on the beginner’s level but are advanced. However there are also some things which we could improve. Those include sound, we could use microphones since the sound on some of the parts of the film wasn’t really accurate therefore the audience could miss many important elements which are needed to better understand the plot and message of the film. Another thing would be the filming, camera movements to be exact. When we recorded a scene we could record a scene from different angles and also make better transitions not by only editing this film, but by using different types of the camera movement so that way we could make the audience actually feel like they are there in the film, experiencing all of those emotions along with the characters. What also could improve the film is the practice of recording and getting the best shots of the character’s faces. Because their gestures are really important, since we can actually tell how the character feels without them saying it out loud. 

The ten different shot types we chose to include in our story were: close up, depth, establishing shot, high angle shot, long shot, low angle shot, pan left and pan right, POV shot, three shot, track out, two shot, and wide shot. 

My role in the film was an actress and sometimes film director. My experiences were positive, I learned new acting and directing techniques. 

The quality of the video and acting were good and well received, however editing and sound needed more work. Sound continues to be an issue. We received criticism for editing and breaking some rules of came movement. For example the 180 degrees rule. Because of the fact that we broke this rule, this caused confusion in the audience while watching the film and also gave the uncomfortable feeling visually. Three main different shots we tried were POV shots, High angle shots and close up. The POV shots and close ups worked really well for us because for instance the POV shots really helped the audience to feel exactly what the actors in that specific scene feel. The shaking and trembling helped the audience feel like they were actually there in the scene with the main characters. On the other hand high angle shots did not really workout for us because we were losing focus when it was most needed. It caused the audio problem too and also the scene seemed empty because of all the unnecessary space there in between characters. What we were trying to achieve from the story is make the audience feel sorry in the beginning and good in the end because of the happy ending and the twist in the script. We were trying to be clear about the message of the film. In the original script in the end scene kids who were bullied by this bully before too thanked the new guy for getting the bully expelled. However we added more to the ending by improving acting skills and improving the dialogue so that the message would represent the idea of taking a first step of making a change even if it’s really little because it actually can turn into something big and be something significant to others too. 

 

With my group  we discussed the genres of both of our first and second films. Our films were hybrids since they included a couple of genres. We concluded that those genres were drama and young adult. Our first film was about a teenage girl being bullied by another girl however in the end they both become friends. We conform to conventions like stories, characters and their representations, setting, iconography and values. We included codes, cinematic elements like low angles, POV shots, over the shoulders shots, tracking in, wide shots, close ups and some editing techniques like quick transitions to create tension to highlight that it was a drama. And in order to show that it's a young adult genre we had teenagers for actors and used natural lighting and two shots. Audience expectations were to feel sad, surprised by the plot twist in the end and also happy because of the high key lighting and warm colors which were included. 

 

Finally, to outline my own personal favorite genre, I really liked romance. I have a potential idea for a final film project in this genre. First two minutes would be about a boy sitting peacefully on the couch, on his phone, then him looking up and yelling into nowhere “are you still mad?” He gets no response so he just gets back to staring at his phone, then he looks up, and has to bend over because a vase goes flying into his direction but misses his head. He again looks up and says “I will take it as a yes”. And the big idea is about a couple who are working on their relationship’s issues together. To outline the romance genre, I could use natural, soft, high key lighting, and most importantly two shots. I also could include POV shots just to make the audience feel like they are actually there, experiencing all of the emotions along with the main characters. I would be interested in exploring romance because it gives us better insight into relationships. 

 

 

 

 

 

The requirements of the midterm film which my teacher gave us were: one to two minutes; horror or horror hybrid; an "opening" rather than a finished film product; minimal dialogue (mostly music, sound effects/ambience); no wall-to-wall music; no long takes; start in black with company ident and/or logo and title and (optional) credits before straight cut or dissolve to first image; minimum of three crosscuts between actor and nightmare; edited/shot/uploaded by student; accompanying blog post. The film must also include one  close up; one dutch angle; one high or low angle; one low key light setup or one silhouette; one pan or tilt or track/push or spin around; one zoom or dolly zoom;  one subliminal cut or multi take or smash cut; one match cut; one  J cut or L cut; one use of slow or fast motion; one intentional use of color for story/emotion; one instance of intentional use of costume/hair/makeup; one instance of visual complexity in setting choice (color, texture, depth, lines, shapes, etc.); three sound effects; one piece of incidental music or one sound motif repeated three times.  Extra credit to include: quick cuts; montage; wide establishing shot; split screen; POV shot; reflection shot; intentional break of the fourth wall; intentional break of the rule of thirds; rack focus or pull focus shot; intentional use of handheld camera work; use of color filters to create a dream like quality; fisheye lens or fisheye effect; company logo with high quality graphic. 

 

The ways I adhere to horror conventions were using unusual angles to create confusion and an unsettling feel with the viewer. The lighting tends to be dark, making the audience feel tense and on edge. Furthermore, my use of sound, such as a high pitch key, in order to create a sense of alarm with the audience. Key codes I used for my film were jump scares, low key lighting, flashbacks and quick, flashing shots.  I have used all of the above to influence audience expectations and engagement because those techniques evoke emotions of fear and suspense. 

 

Moreover i think the way I broke the horror conventions is me having violence in my movie. Next for horror codes i think i broke it by not using more of an underexposed light. And last but not least, audience expectations and engagement, I broke that for the horror by leaving the audience with suspense but not enough suspense in the end of my film. My main idea I represented in my film was a girl who has two twin brothers and one of them died in an accident not long ago. She has these nightmares which haunt her every night where the dead twin brother appears and claims that it is her fault that he is no longer alive. What I was trying to say is that the girl is not as innocent as she appears to be and she is not even aware of the fact that she is guilty of a terrible accident. 

 

Things that were successful in my piece included my good use of sound, music and sound effects which were in every part of my movie from beginning to the end. On the other hand, the less successful thing in my piece was some codes I broke which I already have included above, however the main one was low key lighting which I should have used more to make it look more scary. Finally here are all the hardware and software (script, shooting, editing, sound, graphics, music) I used for the project: Imovie, SoundCloud, ArcStudio Pro. When describing my learning curve, I can strongly say that I did learn something I Didn't know before because not only am I consuming information but also testing my skills, putting them in action and that is much harder than it might seem like. I also learned how important it is to be organized and got more knowledge on how to plan more accurately and most importantly work in a team. 

2.  The genre of the film is horror and the target audience for this film was teenagers or young adults, age: 15- 25, mostly males. 

3.  At the start, The company’s logo like “BlumHaus”, “Miramax”and “Universal” appear with the slow creepy music with the transition to the opening credits and title sequences on a black background, creating a dramatic mood.

3.  While describing it visually, we see a straight cut to the extreme close up on a clock then on a woman's eyes. A lot of close ups after that. Then it’s medium close ups, a lot of following shots, and only in the end, we get establishing shots and wide shots. 

4.  When talking about the sound of those first minutes, there is a really dramatic music at the beginning while all the companies’ logos are being presented, then suddenly silence and with the shots starting showing, there is on;y sounds of the clock ticking creating this tension, then we hear a lot of chatter at the background, radio sounds after. Then the dialogue, and finally the tension continues to grow again as the dramatic music starts again. 

5. I did feel a lot of pressure at the end of those 2 minutes, also a lot of curiosity.   I did want to know more.  The fact that the man did not show his face got me feeling like it was left hanging. I was left with a bunch of questions like what does the man look like, why has he been a criminal for so many years, why those people were so interested in him, how did he end up where he is right now?

6.  The editing style in this clip was not anything special or unique but  some particular editing techniques I noticed were straight cuts, quick cuts, long takes, and really rare, transitions like dissolved and match.  Length of shots was really quick at first, then again was slow, and ended up being quick again. 

7.  How did these first two minutes adhere to conventions?

These first two minutes adhere to conventions in a way that the choice of shots and editing techniques actually make the audience feel like on the edge of the seat, holding their breath, and a lot of tension with uncertain pressure creating dear in some way. 

8.  The choice of including long takes and overexposed light kind of broke the conventions because that didn’t really represent the horror style. 

9. These first two minutes represent people and problems like  "Evil is here!" To expect any sequel to enhance that idea is to miss the point. And the presence and persistence of evil.

10. I think it was distributed on this particular site because they had the experience with the same genre in the past.

11.  Other Comments which i may add about the opening is that the opening was kind of not professionally done. I’m talking about the quality of the editing, and actors’ play in there. Also the events there seemed a bit obvious, like you can guess what is coming next. Realizations I had about film openings after viewing this clip are the style of editing they had was really simple, and choice of shots too. Cinematography maybe was perfectly done but there was just something off, like it needed a bit of sparkle in it, soothing unique. 

Consider any on-set sound effects that will be created and how you will accomplish that. 

Probably a little microphone which will be plugged on the actor's clothes for sound considerations/equipment.  Editing techniques for sound used during the process of editing in the end. 

For the shot list broken down by location and scene: Black screen, POV, Medium Close up, POV, Medium Close up, Dutch Angle. Every single shot will be taken in one place, outside, in the forest. And we will shoot the film in one day, next week during the weekend, on February 25th.

--A related image: Forest

--the piece will be edited using simple editing techniques. In particular,  including straight cuts, hard cuts, jump cuts, J & L cuts, cutaways, cross cuts. I do have an idea of how I might use fast cuts in the beginning of the film, probably a little bit of slow motion or fast motion during the film, right in the middle of the plot. And maybe even match cuts, J cuts in the end to make a good transition in between the shots. My vision for the piece has been influenced by the research I did into similar film openings since I decided to deliberately include jump cuts and ignore montage because it will be and look really irrelevant. 

 Our logo will look like a big title on the black bag round, including use of dark colors and low key lighting. I will use Imovie software to create it. In terms of font/color/movement/creativity for our credits and movie titles we will use fast movement techniques, and dark, cold colors to create a dramatic mood. 

Specific transitions I think will work well in begging scenes will be straight cuts, then those cuts will turn more into dissolves and fades. But in the end however we can try straight cuts again because that way we will catch audience attention. 

For sound considerations I think we will use some sound effects which will be created on set and try locating digitally too so it won’t look boring.  Our music considerations were fast, dramatic music choices.  And if we intend to use copyrighted music, after making a research ahead of time to figure out if we can,  I am sure that we can if we will have an agreement with the composer first. 

I have learned different ways of handling challenges during the process of filming in general because that’s the time when most of the problems occur and those can include time management and team work. As a result of moving through the editing process I changed the way I think ahead. I figured that whenever I think it would take me a certain period of time I should double it and that would turn out to be the time I will spend on editing in the end. Another thing, while talking about the feedback that was given about the rough cut and the second cut I learned that it’s always important to share your thoughts with others and look for other’s opinions because you never know what kind of news and amazing ideas you will bump into or come up with together.  During our process of sharing each other’s opinions things which were changed and updated include us putting the credits and all titles in the end of the clip instead of putting them in the middle and the reason for that was the fats that there was a lot of action during the clip itself so we thought it will be too much and too distracted for the audience’s eyes. That way they can enjoy the clip and focus on the titles in the end. That way they won't be overwhelmed with too many things in such a short clip. Another thing was putting more music to the clip so we can add tension and add transitions in some parts so in some parts of the clip the shots will change fast enough or slow enough.  It was actually super cool and fun AND exiting)))