Our movie was taken in many ways. Our film had plenty more types of shots than the ones listed above, however they weren’t seen by the viewers as we had hoped. Mrs. Marquis had many things to say about how our cuts needed to line up more. We should try to perfect the end of a shot to start the next in the correct position. I think that if we were to improve those points, the audience would be able to connect with the story much more. Another problem with our movie is the sound quality. It was a major improvement from the first movie our group made, however it still was not the best it could be. We used microphones when filming the movie, but they obviously did not help very much. I do appreciate the mics, but we still could have needed better because we are in a huge open area. Some of the shots in our movie worked and others did not. The POV shots were successful because they displayed the power difference between Maya and Maria. Whenever we panned to the left or right, it helped to smoothly transition from each setting. The establishing shot was great because it showed where our story takes place. We tried to show the progression of how reporting issues like bullies to people can help others in the long run. We showed this during the scene where I come up and thank Maya, Kaylee, and Natalia for reporting Maria and getting her suspended because I was being bullied by Maria. I feel that our movie was successful for being the second one we’ve made. Even though it still needs improvements, it was not as bad as I had thought it would be. 

For our midterm we had to create a two-minute-long film opening for a horror film based on a nightmare. It was quite challenging. We were only allowed to have minimal dialogue because it was supposed to have ambient sound, sound effects, and music. That said, we were not allowed back-to-back music. We also had to have 3 cross cuts between the dream and real life. We had to edit shots and then include a blog post. These were our requirements: The film must also include one  close up; one dutch angle; one high or low angle; one low key light set up or one silhouette; one pan or tilt or track/push or spinaround; one zoom or dolly zoom;  one subliminal cut or multitake 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.

I adhered to conventions/codes/audience expectations and engagement by using sounds and angels to emphasize the emotions and eerie vibe of the setting. I used Dutch angles and color to add in a confusing feeling for the audience. I also added a scream at the end, which is a basic code for horror related films. I represented the idea of not knowing who is on the phone when they call. It can be scary. I also represented the fear of not knowing where you are.  

I think that the use of color in my film was successful. It emphasized the setting of the dream, and at least for me, a feeling of confusion. I also think that some of my shots were creative, like the ones where the camera is inside the cabinet and Victoria grabs a glass. I think that the lighting of the character in real life was unsuccessful. I tried my best to cut down the time in my video. That did not work considering that the length of the video is 2:31.  It was hard to find lighting that wasn’t too bright but was enough to not be grainy. It just ended up being too bright. The hardware I used in my film was my computer, and my ring light that had an attached tripod. I used CapCut to edit my film, screams, phone ringing sound effects, and my script as well. I learned that filming alone is so much harder than filming with a group. I also learned that hiding your shadow is very hard.  

Three people are in space fixing their ship when suddenly the technology goes wonky.

2. What is the genre and who is the target audience for this film? 

Sci-fi, teens and up,  

3. Describe the opening credits and title sequences, including any company logos or idents. When do they appear? What color/font are they using? How does it "align" with the opening of the film? Anything else you notice? 

The opening scene was very scenic, it emphasized the void of space and how big everything is compared to humans. The colors contrast between the darkness of space, and the whiteness of the ship, space suits, and the rising sun. This aligns with the fonts that were used because the fonts were futuristic and technological. Space is typically looked at with futuristic ideas, so they align well together. I also noticed that there was not much sound. It was noticeably quiet until you saw the girl in the ship, where she beings talking while observing the space around her. 

3. Describe it visually -- a shot by shot breakdown that includes type of shot/movement, if any. 

In the beginning there is a pan and then an outward zoom. This is there to emphasize the setting, and how empty it is. There was a strange turn used in the outward zoom. It gave the feel of floating about in space, until other characters appear in the corner of the shot. There are straight cuts in-between characters which still showed space and the quietness of it. Over the shoulder shots were used to show the details of the spaceship. Whenever the camera is being used in space, it is either handheld or purposefully moving. It helps to emphasize the floaty feeling that you have in space. The wide shot of the ship above earth gives the feeling that they are stranded.  

4. Describe the sound -- another "sound by sound" for the entire two minutes.  

As I have mentioned plenty of times before, there is not a ton of sound. There is a soft white noise playing throughout the first two minutes. As the camera moves farther back however, you hear “Africa” by Toto playing. The conversations between the astronauts are muffled by their helmets. When the technology starts malfunctioning, you hear the buttons and beeps of the machinery inside the ship.  

5. Describe how you felt at the end of the two minutes. Did you want to know more? What was left hanging if anything? What questions do you still have? 

I wanted to know more. I was left hanging with a feeling of anxiety because something went wrong. I wanted to know how the problem was solved. What caused the problem? Why did it happen? How was it fixed? 

6. How would you describe the editing style in this clip? Any editing techniques you noticed, or length of shots?  

The director and cinematographer favorited a bit longer of shots, closeups, and wide shots. They liked to emphasize the loneliness of space.  

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

It adhered to conventions by showing off the ship and the feeling/sights of space. 

8. How did these first two minutes break with conventions? 

The first two minutes broke conventions by having the astronauts outside the ship. Usually, they are inside. Also, a problem happened two minutes in. In movies it typically takes a little bit longer than that.  

9. How did these first two minutes represent social groups, people, or issues?

It represented the futuristic ideas of space exploration. 

10. Why was this film distributed on this site? 

This film was newly released, and someone wanted to have a better preview before they saw it in theatres. 

11.    EXTRA CREDIT: Any other thoughts or comments or realizations you had about film openings after viewing this clip? 

 Film openings are very underrated when it comes to feeling things and analyzing the situations presented. In any movie I do not really pay attention to the beginning feeling I receive. Now, when I analyzed this opening, I realized the emotions I received. The feeling of anxiety, and awkward quietness in the void made me queasy and uncomfortable.  

  

 

 

There will be an emphasis on warm colored light and natural lighting. We could use a ring light and just light from outside for this. This will show the heating effect from the sun and the firey light coming from it. For the sound we can use the background noise of people along with special effects to make it seem like the sun is loud. Panicking people sounds could also be used here. We can accomplish some of the on-set sounds by having people surrounding the set talk or be loud to make it seem like there are more people around than shown.  

Shot by shot breakdown: 

If I was to distribute our film independently, I would want to have our movie stream. I feel that more people just scroll and find movies they want to watch when they’re bored than go into theaters for movies they have never heard of before. I would put it on Amazon Prime Video. I would approach BITMAX. Even though they charge $600 a movie, there’s a better chance of it being seen.  

2. What is the title of your film? Do you think your title works?  Why or why not (short and sweet, pithy, reflective of genre, aimed at target audience, etc.)?  How could it be improved and why?  Do you have a new title now? 

The title of our movie is called Sun Explosion. It is a bit straight forward and gives away the movie. I would prefer to change it to something like Heat Waves. It connects with the idea of increasing heat throughout the movie.  We could also add something in the title with the word Helios. That is a common word used for sun.

3.  Create a tag line for your poster.  Aim for familiar but fresh.  Remember your genre, and your target audience. 

5 Billion Years too Soon.  

 

This would help to have people attention drawn to our movie.  

4.  Create a paragraph sketch of your target audience member.  Think about who would be interested in your film and why?    

I feel that our audience would spend a lot of time on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This is because of their age range. They like the outdoors and summer. They might be a part of a global warming foundation. They would like to hang out in quieter coffee shops. I could put an ad in their social media feed and on the popular channels on TV. There would be more views there, rather than anywhere else. The people un our audience would also wear the wardrobe of college students. Places that they could go are Urban Outfitters, Gap, Old Navy, and online shops.  

5.  Using your notes from number four above, think about how your could reach that target audience if you were self distributing your film on YouTube or Vimeo or a similar platform.   How can you use that information to REACH them?  Where will you advertise?    

I would use my own social media to advertise my movie to others. If I was to post it to YouTube, I would tell my friends and family to watch and promote the movie on their socials so then it reaches audiences without having to pay anyone. 

6.  How would you ENGAGE your target audience online?  How will you turn passive audience members into ACTIVE, ENGAGED audience members? This is in reference to pull marketing (or interactive marketing).  How will you get them to click on your ads?  What would you offer them in the form of promotions?  How would you incentivize them to repost/retweet/share/forward your ad?  Please INCLUDE SOME OUT OF THE BOX THINKING!  Audience engagement must be addressed in your critical reflections.    

I would turn our audience into active and engaged audiences by saying that for every time you fill out a survey that we have, they could get 50% off the movie ticket. That would help to engage our audience because if a new movie with a popular genre has cheaper ticket prices, more people will flock to our movie. The ads would be interesting to look at, there would be warm tones with our main character in the middle. Because the tickets would get cheaper by each completion of the survey per person, more people would show up to the movie. 

7. How would you design your movie's poster?  How will you design it to be both familiar and fresh in regard to genre? What two or three main colors would you use? What is in the foreground and background? What iconography will be used? Type of fonts/typography? 

I would design our movie poster to have warm tones in the background. The sun would be in the middle, looking dangerous. Our main character would be in the middle looking like they’re struggling. The colors are warm because the sun is made of yellows, reds, and oranges. Our movie Title would be at the top with our main actress and director. On the bottom, our poster would have our tagline in blocky, cool letters. The sudden change in color would catch people’s eyes because it would contrast with the warm colors. The phone notification could be used, as well as the basic warning triangle symbol. Fire could also be a symbol, because with excessive heat, fire comes.