Cambridge Portfolio Week 3 2/28, Detritus Sequence

 Shots, Lighting

 Last blog, I strayed a bit away from my production, but I am now resuming my planning. I will be discussing the scene in the greatest detail I have ever done before I do my storyboard. Before I begin, I would like to go over the design, lighting, etc. The film will be edited in iMovie on my laptop, which comes with a number of filters to choose from. I would like for my opening to have an yellowish hue, with a bit more saturation and warmth. The lighting would start off darker, in the house, and when the character steps outside, the yellow color is a lot more pronounced.

By starting with the interior of the house being dark, the sudden increase in light is a big contrast and gives the lighting a greater effect than it would have before. The reason I have chosen a yellowish and orangeish color is because I believe it emphasizes the post-apocalyptic feeling. They're the warm colors of the desert, which are huge and barren, like the middle of nowhere. Despite it being in a suburb, I'm trying to achieve this desolate feeling by using the colors.

Rough Concept for Ruined Home

I have come up with a name for the film; Detritus. The title will appear at the end of the opening sequence.

Sequence

Complete darkness for a few seconds. Extreme close up shot of the character with eyes closed. Eyes open, jolts up a bit, looks around, slowly rises up. Close up of character standing up, covering background, looks to left, suddenly takes steps back revealing the ruined room. Medium shot of character still stepping back. Extreme close up of eyes, eyes turn left, split second of character starting to move. Cut to tracking shot of character moving down stairs, looking at surroundings. Long shot of windows. Establishing shot of door from slightly low angle, character comes into frame in front of door, opens door, gets shrouded in light. Cut to close up (of character) now outside the building, character squinting and reacting to light, character starts walking forward, camera pans to surroundings. Extreme long shot of character stepping onto the sidewalk, zooming out slightly.

Tracking shot behind character walking down street. As character turns head towards buildings, pan over to buildings, once right, then left, as character is looking left, cut in front of character as he's looking to same direction. Character looks forward again, then down, then stops moving. Close up of characters face, character bends down. Cut to character still moving down to a squat behind character, with finger on ground in sight (over shoulder shot). Close up of finger. Extreme close up of character's worried eyes. Cut to character right outside door of another house, medium shot. Character knocks on door, attempts to open door, sees it's open, takes hand off door handle. Medium shot outside another house, character knocks, opens door completely. Pan over to behind character, with view of house interior visible. Medium shot with a slightly low angle of character as they enter the house. Character knocks loudly, no answer. Long shot of kitchen table with utensils spilled, slight high angle to view floor, character enters shot and views floor. Close up of character's face viewing ground, slight zoom, cut to slight zoom of circular object on ground, contra zoom on character, extreme close up of eye on floor. Medium shot of character backing up and running out. 

Medium shot, low angle of character running into frame, looking around. Wide long shot of many strange objects on floor, look like body parts, same medium shot low angle as before, character steps back and looks down. Close up of tooth on ground, extreme close up of character's eyes, slow zoom. Pov shot of mysterious entity, character visible in frame, character squats down, still looking at tooth. Camera goes forward, character turns toward camera, camera jolts up to face of scared character. Character yelps, drone shot of area. Close up zoom of ear on ground with tooth barely visible in frame. Shot blurs, fades to black. Title card, Detritus shows, with credits.

This is my plan for the sequencing of my opening. A few things are subject to change, but this is what I plan to translate into a storyboard.

 

Cambridge Portfolio Week 2/28, Group Meetings

Group Meetings

Hello, welcome back to my Cambridge Portfolio blog. I know that I have not made any posts in a while, but it's been quite a busy week and I've been spending time planning. This blog post will be something a little different; it's about a group meeting that I had in class, in which we would talk about our progress.

To start off, we waited until everyone was ready, and I decided to go first. I explained that my film was about a man who woke up in a post-apocalyptic world, and that at the end he is attacked by a mysterious entity. I asked for their thoughts and the feedback I received was positive. They liked the idea and did not say anything negative about it. They asked when I would film and I said it would probably be in 1-3 weeks.

The next person said that he didn't have much of an idea yet, but it was about a person who is working out. I told him it seemed like a good idea but he needed to think about it more. I gave him some tips, like how he needed to spend some more time planning, do his planning in advance, and that he should probably think about it with the class time he had. At the end he told me he had thought about the person getting injured and other things that would happen. I was positive and told him he did a good job of creating a better plot for the opening.

Unfortunately the two other people in the meeting didn't seem to have much of an idea for their film and that they hadn't done much for their blogs, either. I told them my thoughts, that they should try to work on their blogs more in the future and that they should plan in advance. I linked a blog post of mine to maybe use as an example and to ask for some kind of feedback. They again liked the idea and I explained that I would like my opening to be a thriller. We spent a most of the rest of the time to think about what we were doing wrong and improving on our ideas.

 

Was this group meeting helpful?

The group meeting was definitely helpful as it let me know if anything was right or wrong with what I was doing so far. However, I wish that my peers were more constructive and critical about my work, and that our discussion was more productive. I now know that other people were having trouble and that I was actually doing quite well, though this doesn't mean I think I don't need to improve.

Cambridge Portfolio Week 3 2/24, Research and Plans

Research

As I am nearing the beginning of production, I have done more necessary research on how to create a good film opening. Although we looked at samples in our classroom, I neglected to do my own research into other film openings. Although I may be getting off track of my planning process, I feel that this research was necessary and it will not be messing with my week schedule.

Pulp Fiction

 

 The film opens in a diner with a couple talking. Right off the bat, the setting is established. When they finish, they pull out handguns and threaten the customers. This introduces the tone of the movie and what kind of movie, a vulgar, violent black comedy. It also introduces the strange, disjointed aspect of the film, with the scene going to the conversation of two completely different characters. This is what I would like my opening to do, to establish the setting, and show what the movie is about.

Cube

I had previously discussed Cube (1997), but I had never gotten into it enough. Cube starts off with a character who wakes up in a strange room. He opens different hatches, each of which lead into a similar, albeit differently colored room. He choses one to go into, but after taking a few steps, he is hit by a mysterious trap, and is split into multiple pieces. Like Pulp fiction, it tells the audience what they're in for, a disturbing movie that takes place in a giant death trap. One thing that inspired me in this opening is that not a single word is uttered, establishing almost everything that needs to be known about the film without any dialogue. Some movies simply start off with opening text or dialogue, but it's just lazy and does immerse the audience into the movie.

 

A Thriller

The reason I researched these two openings in particular is because they are part of the Thriller drama, and I would like for my opening to be a Thriller. Throughout the opening the tension rises as the character finds clue after clue, leading the audience to make their own assumptions about what is happening, and at its climax, eliminating the character that they've been viewing. The character is not shown explicitly dying, however, because I would like for it to be up in the air what exactly is this unseen entity, and what is does to its "victims." One more thing is that my movie, like these two films, would be rated R, or at the very least PG-13. It would be aimed at adults, or teenagers 16+. The opening does not contain anything very explicit or inappropriate, however. I want the audience's head to be racing with thoughts, for them to be engaged in this film. In my next blog, I will discuss the scene itself, discussing the specific shots and composition so I can begin my storyboard. 

 

Cambridge Portfolio Week 3 (2/23)

     Hello, welcome to Week 3 of my Cambridge Portfolio Project. Previously, I had come up with my plan for my film opening. The film opening is about a young man who wakes up in an abandoned suburb. Whilst exploring he finds clues of what may have happened, but he is suddenly attacked by an unknown entity. The plot is already planned, but now I need to plan the production more specifically.

    The first 30 seconds will comprise of shots in my house. The next shots will take place outside my house, and in another, more open area of the neighborhood. Afterwards, that is when the character is attacked and the scene ends. I have also come up with an idea for clues that appear throughout the neighborhood, there is always a trace of some kind of "victim," whether it be a finger, a piece of a toe, or an eye. I will discuss the scene more specifically, a few things subject to change. The character wakes up on the floor, slowly rises up, and looks out of the window, he looks around outside the house, and starts walking around. While walking, he notices small specks and weirdly shaped objects, but takes no notice, but realizes one at his feet is a finger. He finds that all the doors of the houses are open, and walks into one. He finds a an eye, frightening him. He runs out and trips, finding teeth in front of him. Whilst looking around frightened, it changes to a pov shot of the entity that attacks him, and then an aerial shot, and finally a shot of his ear. 

 I plan on beginning filming in 1-2 weeks. I will discuss the scene in more detail once I come up with the nuances of the opening more, and then proceed to creating a storyboard.

2/21 Final Pre-Production Plans

 Hello, in my previous blog post, I discussed the plot in more detail and what it takes inspiration from. Now, I will be talking about how I plan on filming the project, how I will detail the project on my blog as I make progress, and other plans for the production itself. I lack any kind of budget; I can probably only film on my phone, and I will probably be the only actor. That is why I chose to make the opening contain only one character. For editing, I will use iMovie on my laptop to put scenes together, apply effects, as well as other post-production touches.

I plan on making my storyboard in the week following this blog post. It will contain all of the shots and angles I plan on showing in my finished film opening. Some of these shots include: multiple close up shots of the character's face, extreme long shots to emphasize the lack of people, and a point-of-view shot of whatever attacks the character.

Going back to how I will film this, I will simply choose an appropriate time of day in which there aren't many people outside, and I'm free to film myself without ruining the scene. For scenes that require far more complicated positioning, I will probably enlist the help of my father to hold the phone camera. I will film outside my house, in my house, and in empty places in my neighborhood. In order to make the place have an apocalyptic tone, I might trash a few things in my house, and apply a slight orange-yellow haze in post-production, or a darker hue instead. These are the plans I have for my film opening, and I look forward to recording my progress on this blog.

Film Opening Planning 2/21

 Hello, welcome to my Film Opening update. In my last blog post, I discussed my final plans for my film opening. For a recap, I decided to stick with this concept about a man waking up in a post-apocalyptic setting, with nobody in sight. Since then, I have come up with more plans for it. Here, I'll be talking about the characters and plot aspects of the opening.

To summarize, a man wakes up in a house in the middle of a small town. He does note know where he is, and looks around. There doesn't seem to be anyone around. He goes throughout the area, finding little clues as to what may have happened here, and why everyone is missing. I have added a new scene, which is, at the end, he notices a few specks of blood on the ground. While investigating, he is suddenly attacked and the scene ends. The whole point of the scene is to build of mystery and a bit of suspense, and then quickly release that suspense into one burst.

 

Cube (1997)

 

This is loosely inspired by another film, which is the 1997 movie Cube. In its opening, a man is exploring a strange complex with many cubed rooms. He does not know anything about it, checking different rooms and finally choosing to walk through one. After taking a few steps into the room, he is suddenly killed by a trap. What I take inspiration from is that somebody finds themselves in an unfamiliar place, and after exploration, they are suddenly cut off. It sets a tone for the rest of the film, and introduces a sort of conflict or antagonist that will be present throughout the movie. I will discuss my final plans and production planning process in my next post.

2/20 Camrbidge Portfolio Planning: Decision

    I have finally made a final choice for what my film opening will be. In my last blog post, I talked about two examples of concepts for what my opening could be. I actually ended up choosing one from those two, which is the opening involving a post-apocalyptic setting. Since I've already come up with the base concept, I'll be discussing my initial plans for this particular opening. First off, my main plan for this opening is to create a sense of mystery, and to make it hook the audience. Even though it takes place after some kind of disaster or apocalypse, I will not be revealing too much of the fact. The reason I choose to do this is, again, for mystery, and I would like the audience to try to figure out things for themselves. That's part of what makes a film opening great and effective.I have not thought out an entire shot-by-shot composition of this opening yet, but I will describe an overview of the tone I am looking for and possible techniques to achieve it. 

    First off, I want the opening to have absolutely no dialogue, or at most 2 words. The main character in this scene will be the only person, as everyone else seems to be missing. He'll also have no idea of where he is. He will look outside, go around, and notice certain elements in the environment that allude to what really happened. All of these different elements will develop questions in the viewers' heads, such as "what happened here?" or "where is everyone?" and try to piece those things together. The reason I might consider two spoken words is the possibility of the character shouting for someone. I would like the front of the characters head to be in frame a lot of the time, specifically to show his confusion, since I want to convey the fact that he knows just as much about what's happening as much as the audience does. I will discuss more about these plans tomorrow, but for the time being, I need to finalize my plans for this specific scene.

2/19 Cambridge Portfolio Planning

 

Hello, welcome to the second week of my blog posting regarding the progress of my Cambridge Portfolio project. Unfortunately, I have been increasingly indecisive about what my film opening should be. However, this does not mean I have not though about it at all. The reason I am so hesitant to make a final decision on my opening is that I need to be absolutely sure that I am making the right choice, and it comes from experience. There have been multiple projects in the past in which I made a quick decision and struggled immensely, later regretting my choices. I do not want to choose something too ambitious or too weak, because considering the sheer scope of this project, what I choose is what I'll be stuck with.

This does not mean I have not put any thought into it at all, however, I still have some plans for it, I just need to make the final decision. One such plan is based on a psychotic man. It would feature him showing the kinds of violent fantasies he has, and even staring at "potential victims," but I find it somewhat difficult to stretch showing someone's psychotic state into about 2 minutes. Another considered opening is the implication of a post-apocalyptic setting. I feel confident about this one because these types of settings usually beg the question, "what happened here?" and what I specifically wanted for my opening is to hook in the audience to wonder what will happen next, and to set a tone for the rest of the film. Now that I am finalizing my approach, I will likely make the final decision tomorrow, and the process will speed up.

Approaching the Film Opening: Planning

 

 

    Beforehand, I had talked about the kind of studying I did to try and understand the art of an effective and establishing film opening, but here I will talk about my own process for my film. What the film openings I studied did was similar to an essay, start by hooking the audience in, and establish the tone that would be followed in the rest of the film. In my opening, I would establish the characters, showcase what kind of film this would be, and use film techniques and mise-en-scene elements and provide a specific tone that would draw the audience in. In order to provide the kind of tone used for the rest of the film, I would actually need to figure out what kind of movie this would be, and what it would be about. There were multiple iterations, for instance, an action movie, but being a young student with no budget, it would be too ambitious and difficult to film from a logical standpoint. Another thought was romance, but it would likely required good, or almost professional actors to be effective, which I didn't have.

     A big part of the process and what I scrapped was done because of logic and reasoning; I needed something that was easy to do and was simple enough to come up with a plan with but could still be an effective opening for setting up the film. If I decide to stick with something and later find out it's to difficult to do, I can't change it at that point and I'd have to be stuck with it. Even now I am still struggling to come up with a concrete and completed plan for what I will do, but what I think I would do is a kind of drama movie about the life of a man. The film opening would likely introduce this man and the kind of problems he goes through without revealing to much and leaving a part for the plot, to make it intriguing as to what will happen to him next.

Approaching the film Project: Research

 

 

    Hello, this is the beginning of the documentation for my Cambridge Portfolio project. I will be discussing the initial plans for this project. The initial process started in class, in which we took notes based on already-existing film openings. Some examples of the films openings we viewed were Scream, Children of Men, Stranger than Fiction, etc. We saw examples of specific filming techniques and mise-en-scene elements to create a film opening. We also discussed the most important parts of a film opening, such as establishing tone, illustrating genre, and effective ways of doing so.

    Despite the examples that were already shown, I still wanted more, so I can see a particular pattern in good film openings that I can learn to utilize and make my opening as effective as a professional film. I looked at openings such as Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and more famous openings. What they all shared in common is exactly as was discussed in class, but they did it in different ways, as well as incorporating elements of their own. I planned to do just as these openings did, follow the book, but do something original that would make them stand out amongst the rest. Unfortunately, I looked more into these examples and studying the art of a film opening rather than putting the actual thought in what I will actually do for my own opening in the project, but I will go into that in my next blog post.

Music Marketing: The Full Process

 

    The star of the show is Javan, a rising star with a new song: Me and your Mama. However, in order to make it a hit, there is a lot of process behind it for marketing, distribution, and production. Our group started by compiling a chart of well known and renowned artists and conducting research. We specifically looked at the marketing and distribution techniques that made them famous. We looked at two main companies, Republic Records and RCA Records. The four artists we researched were The Weeknd, Vera Blue, Alicia Keys, and Dojo cat. We looked into the Weeknd in particular because he was another R&B/Soul artist that had a similar style to what we were going for. For example, we looked at how he opts to create music videos to go with his music and post on his social media accounts such as twitter to promote his work.

    After doing our research, it was time to come up with our own plan. We would first choose a target audience, and create a music video to go along Javan's song. Our plan was for our target audience to be teens and young adults, so the video would be tailored for that audience. We decided to make a video about a breakup. A young man would be depicted being sad, thinking back on the days with his ex-girlfriend. When he saw her with another man, he would go into a rage, kicking cans and making a mess. The reason we chose to create a music video about breakup is because it would appeal to our target audience. Since teens and young adults are more active in creating relationships, many of them have likely gone through a breakup, which lets them relate to the video.

 

    To develop the video, we first decided to get together and meet up at a place. We would then film Javan in multiple shots and angles in different places looking sad and depressed. We would take multiple shots, and then choose the best one to use. Do to a lack of an actor for a girl, one of the group members who had a girlfriend decided to film at his home with his own girlfriend. After the shots had been collected, it was time for editing. I myself was the editor, and I specifically tried to edit the video in theme with the song. The scenes would cut to the beat of the song, effects would be applied, etc. If I had insufficient footage, I filmed a few scenes of my own and asked the star to send a few videos. For example, this is were I came up with the idea of the symbolical Cola. In the film, the main character is depicted drinking Coke, and then throwing it on the ground, crushing it, and kicking it, spilling soda. I filmed a slow-mo of water mixed with food coloring to look like Cola, to be symbolic of the singer's anger as he inflicts his rage on Coke cans. After finishing, we took some more inspiration from our artist research, creating a marketing plan for Javan. We created a social media page and created merchandise.

 

 

    In the end, the marketing and production for Javan's song Me and your Mama was rough, but worth it in the end. I personally think we did a great job of devising a plan for getting the song the acclaim it deserves. Some questionable decisions were made, such as making the cola symbolic, but in the end I think it actually improved the video in the long run. The lack of resources we had as a small group only forced us to get more creative and in turn made the project far better. Of course, there are things we could have done better, such as creating more marketing and distribution tactics than just merch and a twitter account, which was too similar to the artists we studied, but overall, I learned even though you may lack sufficient resources, you can always get a piece of media to get popular, and it's possible for anyone to be the next big hit.