Set Design creation

 Our set design will be pretty simple. The location we're filming in is in a house which will be the girlfriends house in our opening film. This house will suite her. Meaning it will suit how she is as her personality. 

We plan on filming in the living room and kitchen which are right by each other. The kitchen is dark with dark brown modern cabinets, fitting more her aesthetic of a modern dark. We will set everything up around this space to help set more the theme. We really want to use candle lighting which will also help if they're laying around to fit her aesthetic. We will have white candles laying around with other dark aesthetic props. Maybe some dark red roses laying around with maybe a black vase, or dark covered books on shelves. We also want the house to seem darker. dimming the lighting, filming at night and using candle light for more suspense and to fit more into the story. 

Inspirations: 

 

Prop creation

 We had many props in our film that we needed. One of them being the bloody object that was going to be found. We were thinking this object to be gloves, the gloves were going to be covered in FAKE blood. It was prop blood. Another prop that we needed was the props that would make the setting around. Since, this was her house we wanted the props to give off the vibes she gives off, which are sort of dark. Th very last props were the movie props

These movie props were the props we were going to use to produce the movie scene in the beggining showed on the tv. The last prop was a regular fake knife that will be used to show she is going to kill him. The props were a bloody knife with a t-shirt which a woman would be wearing all bloody. Again, with FAKE blood. 

The gloves were gonna be made with the fake blood and so was knife we were going to use for the movie. The biggest prop we were using was the blood. The blood had to be the perfect consistency. Not too lose, but not too think. The right texture and color of blood. We had FAKE bottle blood, but we wanted to produce our own to make it seem more real. This blood was going to be made with ingredients from recipes we found after researching. Ingredients like corn syrup to make it thick, corn startch and food color (red and blue) to make it dark. 

Planning post focusing on audio and script

 Audio and Script

Audio: 

The audio for our opening film is honestly not much. There aren't any big audio features we will need. The only ones might be the simple sounds of the door opening and closing. The shuffuling through the garbage can after finding the bloody object or the footsteps. Which all of these sounds will be produced by us. None of these sounds will be from another creator, they'll mostly all be foley sounds produced by us. 

Script:

This is our script so far. We will be improving it as we go on with the filming process.

planning post focusing on mise-en-scene element (costume, set, props, lighting, etc.) pt.2

 Props and Lighting

Props: 

We have 2 props for our opening film, the first one is simple, something you could find in any kitchen, a knife. This knife will be then one that will slide down her sleeve and will also be the murder weapon, this knife will be key to our film. The second object, which we're still deciding on, is the bloody object. The object that he finds and confront her about it. We're in between gloves or a piece of clothing which will be smeared with blood on it. The blood, which could be counted as a third prop, is fake. We will be using fake blood. 

Lighting: 

Our lighting for this opening film is extremely important. It will be the way our audience will tell the mood of the room, the people, and the tension happening. The principal lighting for our film will be the ones from the shift from the living room to the bathroom and from the bathroom to the living room. The bathroom lighting is key, it will be the lighting that will introduce the audience and show them that the lighting will take a big part in the film. The kitchen lighting which is the last few scenes lighting, will demonstrate the diabolical event that it about to happen. 

planning post focusing on mise-en-scene element (costume, set, props, lighting, etc.)

 Costume and Set 

Costume:

The costuming for our film will be simple. Nothing too big or too out of the usual. Our characters are at their house, watching a movie and being relaxed laying down. They'll also be with each other, they're in a relationship so they're comfortable with each other. Meaning they won't be dressed too nicely, more like hoodies, sweatpants and maybe for her a nice top to stay at home. 

The costuming for her we plan on doing a nice comfortable top with sweatpants or some at home short with an oversized hoodie. The hoodie will seem as if its his, to create more of that boyfriend and girlfriend senerio. With how our story is supposed to plan out we will probably use option 2 since one of our scenes is the knife sliding down her sleeve. The hoodie will help us out a lot with that.  

On the other hand the costuming for him, will be really simple. Nothing out of the extordanery, basic outfit for a guy who's chilling watching a movie with his girlfriend. Sweatpants are key and we're between a plain shirt or a hoodie. As we could see his costuming is very simple and nothing big. A key factor we also want to have is the hair. Her hair will be up, as if in a messy bun and his hair will be normally messed up just as if they were cuddling. 

Set: 

The set was decided from the very beginning. Based of the shots we want to be able to take, our setting will be in the living room on the couch. They're watching a movie in the living room and from there we shift to the bathroom then to kitchen which is perfect for the house we're filming in. The living room is perfectly alined with the bathroom to the kitchen, helping take all of our shots just how we want them. Our set is really easy and we plan on staying with this set because by moving anywhere we would have to shift our whole planning around. 

planning post focusing on character development

We plan on already having our characters developed by the time we start filming even though our characters will also finish developing while filming we also want to get a head start to be prepared for what we want. Have a visual of how our characters are going to be. As the opening film starts getting developed and filmed, the characters will fully start closing up, meaning the audience will be knowing by the end the full character development (that will be happening as the film goes) of each character. 

The girlfriend (Natalia):

The girlfriend (Natalia), starts off in the film as being a typical girlfriend, she' the main character even though it doesn't seem like it in the beginning. She starts off being a normal girlfriend, she's calm but at the same time will give off a mysterious vibe. As the film progresses we'll start seeing more of her and learning about her. She will most likely start off with being a normal young woman to being a crazy diabolical naive woman, at least that's our plan. The film will progress and she'll get worst. More of her will show, as we see more, we see worst. By the end of the film we know how she is, the audience will be able to know the type of person she is and will also tell she is the main character. It will be demonstrated how the film went from being about a couple to being all about her in such short time. 

The Boyfriend (Jeronimo): 

The boyfriend(Jeronimo), who will be seen as the main character from the very start will be the opposite. He'll turn into the victim, we see a lot of shots of him but that's as the film goes. He'll be portrayed as the boyfriend who is trying to find the good in his girlfriend even though he knows she did something wrong, you'll also see him be scared at the same time but act tuff. There isn't much character development to Jeronimo compared to Natalia. Just the simple fact that he'll turn into the victim and we'll see that the story isn't about him, its about her. 

Post including my script or storyboard

 Working on our storyboard really helps with the organization of out project. It helps us have a more clear mindset for ourselves and our partners on what we have in mind for the shots and angles fro each scene. We worked on our storyboard and this is how it turned out. 

Post summarizing your project idea

 Our project summary. Our opening film will be a romance/horror about a serial girlfriend. It start off in a type of romantic tone and then escalates to the boyfriends finding a clue of a killing. The film is about a serial girlfriend whose love language is killing. 

 The film starts off with a couple sitting in the couch watching a movie, more specifically a horror movie. The boyfriend stands up to the bathroom and as he's on his way we see a figure shift across from behind him. This is to create a feeling of suspense. He enters the bathroom where the brighter lighting will be and as he is ready to use it he sees a bloody object (we still don't know what) in the trash can and gets scared. He walks out with it and sees she isn't in the spot she was before.

In suspense and a scared voice he calls out her name worried about what is going on and where she is. As he turns the corner to the kitchen we see her in a shadow, you could barley see her but see her figure. She is standing very diabolically as if she was waiting for him. He asks her what is going on and what this is as he lifts up the bloody object. She starts acting defensive but in a calm way, spooking him even more. This worries him making him to start getting more scared, we then see the tip of a knife start sliding down her sleeve as the argument is getting more intense. He starts screaming asking her what she's doing and asking her to please come down. Our film still is undefined where it will end, but we knwo the shots and everything else that will be used within the film. 

Research post about one media theory that you wish to integrate into your project

With the idea we have, me and my group decided that a media theory we want to include is the Binary Opposition Theory. This is "the experiencing life through opposites like good vs evil". We thought this would be suit our project.

As we know, our portfolio project is set to be a horror romance, we have all of it planned except our ending but we know our plot. We think that the Binary Opposition theory, good vs evil would really suit our project. This is because of in our plot we have the innocent boyfriend and the evil/diabolical girlfriend. If this theory doesn't work and we decided to do a different one, we're thinking of the Character theory and focus on the "villain". 

Character theory is the focusing on a character, and even through it seems as if the boyfriend is the main character he isn't, we plan to try and interpret the girlfriend as the main character since she's the killer. The boyfriend is shown as the main character since he has the most sots but the story is based of the girlfriends life. So, if we try and interpret the girlfriend as the main character, it would be perfect because we could implement character theory and focus on the "villain" character for her. 

We're still deciding on many things , including our ending and our theory. We plan to have everything sort out by next week after speaking to each other and finding an agreement and sorting ideas. 

Reflection post about group meeting #1

After planning most of our opening film out and speaking with our teacher about what we're going to do and receiving feedback, we went into a group meeting. This group meeting was used to get feedback from our classmates and to have an idea of what other presentations will look like. 

We got placed into groups that our group partners weren't in. In my group I had Max, Camila, Michael, and Mackenna. They gave out their ideas and told me their idea for props and dressing. When it was my turn I told them my idea and they pretty much liked it. They gave me feedback on better scenes I could work with. A scene they really liked was the scene of the boyfriend standing up to go to the bathroom and you see the girlfriend shift from her previous spot to another walking across behind him. They thought that scene was really fun since it gave a spooky feeing without getting anywhere to the horror part and it also told the story better.

A scene they told me to improvise, make better, or that I could even play around with was the scene of when the boyfriend finds the blood or a clue that she murdered someone. They told me that a way he could find out could be by him seeing bloody gloves in the trash or also as he sees the item that gives her away, you see scenes shift as he looks at the item and looks away towards where she was and there is no one there, it could create a eerie feeling of some sort. Lastly, they told me to play with the lighting. An idea one of the girls had was the shift from bright to dark that could really fit in with the vibe of the setting each character is in. She spoke about making the bathroom scene really bright, meaning that when he is in the bathroom the light is pretty bright but as he leaves the bathroom the light disminuates or fades. The bathroom in the kitchen where she is at could be really low and there will be more light on him than on her. This will help create her vibe for her character and kind of show what is going to happen because of the feeling it will create. The lighting, the facial expressions, her posture and tone of voice are what will make up her character and help her create the feeling we want to give off to the viewers. 

The meeting was really useful, specially with the information and feedback I got back, it helped me create a better idea for some scenes in my film and things I could improvise in or play around with. Below is a picture in my group with my classmates. 

Research and Planning casting

 Our opening film we want to be a romance horror, this film while take place on todays date about a young couple because of this I want the couple to look older and mature. After scouting on some examples of how the couple could be and how each character could be represented, I finally was able grasp a sketch in my head about how I want each character to be and who could play them.

First off the guy. The guy which is the boyfriend was pretty easy to sketch. This guy was easy to draw in my mind, how tall, the physic, the age, vibe he throws off and just in all his appearance. So, we know that our cast for our film was going to be people we knew, more specifically our friends for this role. We talked about any guy friends that would be down to film and were also comfortable with filming. We also thought of a friend that met the standards of tall, looks older and could have a deep voice to seem older (around 17-19). I then thought of one of my closest friends, he was a super close family friend who met these standards and I knew that if some thing I would feel comfortable filming with, so i asked him and he said yes. His appearance was easy to make him seem a few years older than what he is (16), so we didn't have much job to do there and it was also pretty easy. 

Next and finally was the girl or the girlfriend. The girl was extremely hard to cast, we didn't who we wanted or who could meet the standards that we wanted. The girl didn't have to look the same age the guy but she did have to meet more specific standards than the guy, which is what made it so hard. We wanted the girl to have a diabolical sort of look. This look was key for our film to look good. We also wanted someone who would be comfortable filming with the chosen guy and that met his similareties of brunette and not so tall but around his height. It was pretty hard to think of someone who could meet the standards of someone who had a sort of diabolical or mean look that they could create. We created a t-chart with my friends and my partners friends that could be suited for this role but we got nothing. We had some people that were maybes but nothing perfect. So, we thought of ourselves and even though nothing is definite with the girl we ended choosing that maybe I would be the right person for it. At the time we only have me as the girl but if anything in comes up before we start filming it would help a lot. 

Post illustrating the schedule we have created for ourselves

 We have in mind of our schedule, when we'll start filming and when we'll be finished for editing. Aside from having these 2 months to film and edit, we also have to have in mind the blogs that we need to post and how much that is going to take out of our time. Lastly, we also have to have in mind our last part of our project. The CCR, Creative Critical Reflection. Which we want to have around 2 weeks with some extra days to work on it. 

Our schedule starts with the planning, which is what is going on right now. We spent the past few days of this week, trying to figure out the genre and plot. Which we came up with a romance horror. This week and next week are going to be used to plan, have our story straight and creating a script and illustrated image of our scenes and our shot angles. 

The week after the next one, the week of February 17th, we'll start filming. We'll start working on creating our setting and start doing the scenes. Work on props that'll be used within the opening film and prepare and practice the acting that will be done. By the end of that week everything will be ready expect filming. Filming will take us from February 17th to March 15th. Almost, a month to film, fix and bloopers and edit. We think that if everything goes good and nothing comes out wrong it'll take us a little over 2 weeks to film and a little over a week to edit, in case we realize last minute we're missing scenes or we need more of something. 

We plan on wrapping up filming and editing by half way through the week of the 17th (March). While we're wrapping up, which will mostly be editing, we'll be making the CCR. We want to finish a few days before the due date, March 25th because we want to have a few days off just in case and not have anything that goes wrong happen on top of us submitting it. 

The reason why we might take much time for us to film is because of our schedules. Realizing we have other classes and we also have other blog posts to work on which will take up our time. Hopefully everything works out right and we don't go through the stress of things going wrong. 

research/analyze/discussing three credit sequences from films within chosen genre

 After not knowing how a credit sequence works and the order of how it goes or where it goes, I did some useful research. I had seen credit sequences in movies before but I simply hadn't payed enough attention to now the order or where things go. Even though I knew what I was looking for, it still took time to find useful information to learn from. So, according to "How to Order Movie Credits: Guide to Opening and End Credits" ,Written by MasterClass. The "basic order" for credit sequences is the following.

1. The Distributor
2. The Production Company
3. The film maker
4. Film title
5. Cast
6. Casting director
7. Music composer
8. Costume designer
9. Associate producers
10. Editor
11. Production designer
12. Director of Photography
13. Executive producers
14. Producers
15. Writers 
16. Directors

This list is long, and was very useful but we don't plan on including everything in there. We'll include the majority but not all, we will though follow that order for our opening scene. After doing that research, I started researching on my example on credit sequences within my chosen genre (romance horror).

My first example being the opening credit sequences from the film dark shadows from 2012. The films genre is romance horror. Its opening credit sequence goes with the production company and then the title of the movie with music that goes with the background and name. But, after that the movie starts and the rest of the credits are shown at the end. 

My next example is Ghost, 1990. The film starts off with showing the distributor, the production company, film maker, and then the title strikes with a horror sound of suspense, and finally the cast name start coming up while in the background the camera is shifting us through a room. The room being a setting that goes with how the film is supposed to go. 

My final example would be the opening credit sequence from the animated film corpse bride which includes all 1 through 16 of the credit order mentioned above from MasterClass. It includes everything while having background music and shifting through the setting of where the animated film takes place. 

Research/analyze/discussing three film openings from chosen genre

After speaking with my group, and my partners. We decided on a mix of genres, romance and horror. We'll kind of be using a traumatic love story. This could role out as loving partners who are killers, or one of them are killers. Not killers to the public but maniac killers, meaning their way of demonstrating their love will be through killing. Something along the lines of they kill their lovers. We thought out the characters and thought that the best gender role to play out the killer in the relationship would be the girl. This would give her a sense of possession, and being dominant in the relationship. We also want to make her seem insane or diabolical, displace her as that being her form of language and enjoys it. A sort of inspiration to this character could've been the role that Victoria Pedretti played in the Netflix series "You". The way she preforms that role is spectacular and kind of shows that vibe we want to give off of killing for love. So, after finalizing our characters, the genre, and sort of the plot of the story, now we had to develop the opening scene and go into detail abut the shots, scenes and dialogue. 

Our opening scene, which is the one definite, the one we're certain we're going to use is about a couple who is happily together but the one finds out she has killed someone, once he goes to confront her about it we see her diabolically sanding in the kitchen waiting to kill, he doesn't know though. As he's going to tell her she is talking diabolically to him, she seems crazy. We see her get closer and closer to him as her steps towards him start getting more scary, worrying him. Then, we here a knock that follows with "police" and instant red and blue lights flashing into the house. In that moment they look at each other and she pushes into him, "attacking him" and finalizes with her finger covering her mouth and her other covering his mouth doing a "shushing" sound. Leaving the opening film with suspense. 

Aside from this film opening we decided on, before there were many other ideas. These ideas shifted from if she kills him or there's suspense or if there is another killing and many more things. We decided on not doing the killing scene after thinking through and realizing how complicated a killing scene is. How much it takes to seem realistic so, we decided to take it out and instead imply there will be a killing happening but it isn't shown. Then we had to think about how that was going to be shown and thought of the knock, we thought it was pretty creative and suspensful, even better if its the cops. The cops are there, which will be shown by a phrased followed by "police" and blue and red lights flashing inside the house, because of a killing she got caught commiting which is why he finds blood on the bathroom. 

Lastly, the very first film opening we thought of, which we quickly scrapped was the killing arising because of an argument. The reason we scrapped this idea so quick was because of all the cons that came with it. For example, the killing scene as spoken before and how hard it would be to film it. Also, the arguing scene, we thought that the arguing scene would seem too basic. The plot of, couple fights, girlfriend is crazy and kills her boyfriend, we didn't like that idea so we scrapped it. That idea came with the "cheating" idea, where he cheats, she finds out and kills him. All these ideas were fun but we wanted something more sort of unique and not so common. So, thats why we landed on our idea of her love language being killing, it kind of gives of the vibes of diabolical and sinical love. 

Two possible genre choices for project. Research on possible genres.

 I thought of many genres to work with, being suspense/thriller, romance or horror. Working with horror though is too common. It feels like almost everyone works with horror and its heard to make a horror opening film that doesn't start with stalking or kidnapping. So, I came to the conclusion that its best if I discard horror and focus on an opening film of suspense/thriller or romance. 

Suspense/ Thriller

Anxiety, anticipation, and ambiguity are all present in suspense novels, although they frequently grow gradually. As a result, the reader is left wondering what will happen, even as these emotions grow throughout the narrative and heighten the tension. The answers to potential outcomes are kept as long as possible in suspenseful storylines. To give the reader a sense of increased expectation, they are extended. This is the secret to a suspenseful book's success. Characters in danger or on the verge of discovery are frequently the subject of suspense stories, and the suspense is created by the uncertainty or expectation of what might happen next. In fact, according to American author Sidney Sheldon, "Life is like a novel." It has a lot of tension. Until you turn the page, you have no idea what will happen.

A thriller moves quickly and is captivating. It is a gripping, plot-focused story about a blatant danger or threat to the main character. In fact, the narratives frequently revolve around the protagonist's struggle with the adversary, who may be pursuing them. The main character, who is typically in peril from the beginning, is clearly threatened or endangered, and it typically stays plot-centered. The antagonist is typically extremely obvious, and the action sequences, rapid pacing, and suspenseful plot twists all contribute to the stress. Actually, direct conflicts or battle sequences are common in thrillers. Thrillers, which are frequently connected to action, crime, or spy storylines, are meant to thrill and excite readers. 

According to American science fiction author Nancy Kress, "You'd better keep things moving quickly for the reader if you're writing a thriller, mystery, Western, or adventure-driven book." In some genres, a rapid tempo is essential. It draws readers in, builds suspense, intensifies the drama, and moves the plot forward quickly. What constitutes a good thriller? There are undoubtedly many excellent films that fit this genre perfectly. In actuality, a lot of excellent thrillers are frequently adapted into TV series or movies. Consider who created the bomb-on-bus situation and how Jack and Speed are attempting to outsmart it. One of the contemporary titans of the thriller genre in literature is Stephen King. However, he also writes a lot of horror, and occasionally the two come together.

Romance 

The relationship and passionate love between two people are the main topics of a romance novel, also known as a romantic novel. These novels usually have an emotionally fulfilling and hopeful conclusion. Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Maria Edgeworth, and Samuel Richardson are among the writers who have influenced the growth of this genre. There are several subgenres of romance novels, including science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, historical romance, and paranormal fiction. Although 16% of men read romance novels, women have historically been the main readers of these books, according to the Romance Writers of America.  In ancient Greece, a flourishing type of literature commonly known as "romance novels" flourished. 

The literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Jane Austen's novels and Samuel Richardson's sentimental book Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), include more forerunners. Georgette Heyer, a British author of mystery fiction and historical romance set in the period Austen lived, was influenced by Austen. The Black Moth (1921), Heyer's debut romance, took place in 1751. In the 1930s, women's romance novels were first published by the British business Mills & Boon. Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. started selling their books directly to readers in North America and permitted mass-market merchandisers to carry them.

Transition posting to portfolio project. Discussing about initial plans, approach to project, etc.

 As I first heard of the project I thought of many ideas. I wanted to make a good production that communicates a message and that is worth watching with the time that is given to work on it. I had many ideas in mind, going from many different topics, genres, story's and timelines, but all this quickly shut down as I saw the examples of past projects. This was because I saw how good these projects were, those who produced and wrote it had to be very skilled and talented. It almost felt impossible to be able to beat those projects, or at least make it somewhat around the same level of them. It was hard but in a way they helped, they showed that the expectation were high and the thinking skills and creativity was high. So, thats when I knew that I had to go all out. Create a project demonstrated everything our teacher had taught us. I got thinking and even though i'm still not sure about what i'm going to do, I know how i'm going to approach it. 

The first step for my will be having the right mindset and being organized with how i'm going to start it, do it, who will be in it, what the plot will be, and more. One of the mayor things will be, who will be in project? I've came to the conclusion that obviousley it will be those in my close circle, mainly being friends. The only problem about that is that we're all in high school, most of my friends are in their most busy year (Junior year), this means that matching a day where they'll all be able to film and be free for any filming, ideas, rehearseing, and editing. I plan on finding out who is willing to help out and is willing to give up some of their free time for the project. Then, i'll put them all in a group chat and send them a sort of planning cheat of how everything will role out and happen. 

I hope I get to make the production good, its all in my hands and a little in the hands of those who I decide to work with. Working dilengentley and not procrasinating will be key for the successfulness of my project.