Equipment

    I have finally finished filming! My partner and I used various equipment during the last day of filming. One of the equipment that we used during the last day of filming was a pick axe. At first, I thought the weapon the serial killer was going to carry was a golf club but then we found this pick axe in Reeves's garage when we were getting the black garbage bags which were another prop that we used during this filming. The reason we decided to use this pickaxe instead of the golf club is that it looked more menacing and frightening. 

Garbage bag and pickaxe

    Another piece of equipment that we used during the last day of filming was the phone mount. This made filming a lot easier as it helped with having a consistent height then it was used. This helped us greatly because it helped us stabilize our camera, especially during the shots that were still. While it still helped us during the shots where we incorporated movement, the camera still moved a bit but the mount definitely alleviated the shakiness.

Phone Mount

    The single most important equipment that we used during the last day of filming was the camera. The camera that we used was my iPhone 12 with the camera set at 4k 60. One might think why choose this phone and not the iPhone models from the previous years? Well, I did some research and I found out that the iPhone 12 picks up more detail and light than the previous model, the iPhone 11. This was crucial throughout the whole filming not just on the last day. For example, we were a bit worried that we would not have been able to see everything clearly since the filming took place at night, but we tested my iPhone 12 and it turned out great. Another example is during the car scene, since the car doesn't receive a lot of light because it is covered we were wary to try this car scene and wouldn't be able to see the serial killer clearly. Again this was not a problem because my camera lens can pick up light effectively.  

Last day of filming

    Today is March 31 and we have finished filming. Today is Easter Sunday and many people celebrate today, Reeves being one of them. We agreed to meet at his grandparent's house at 1 pm to start shooting. Reeves's friend Rui, was supposed to play his part in the opening but he could not come today so my brother came to help us. Throughout the shooting, my brother (Daniel) assisted us by acting as the serial killer in the last scene.

This is Daniel (My brother)

    Furthermore, we had to change the script and make my brother the serial killer. We started by doing the waking up scene in the couch in the backyard, where Reeves, me and Rui fell asleep the previous shooting. Since Rui could not come we had to improvise so we made the idea that Rui gets attacked at night.  So since he got attacked at night, me and Reeves woke up without seeing Rui and we assume he left. Moreover, the next scene, we woke up and turned on the TV and found out there was a serial killer on the news and we did not think much of it.

    For the next scene, we ordered a LYFT to leave the party and come back to the house. All of this is taking place in the backyard and is being recorded by Jordan and my brother. Jordan has had a good amount of experience with the camera since as a side hustle he works as a photographer. Therefore, we thought that he would be the right person to help us film. However, this doesn't mean that he will be directing the whole film, Reeves and I made sure that we were the ones implementing the skills that we learned from our media studies class. Therefore, we told Jordan what angles, types of shots, movements, and compositions we wanted before filming. Then he would also give us some insight which would have Reeves and I decide if we wanted to implement whatever he suggested.

This is Jordan Perez (Camera Man)

We had to film many takes, I would say 5 takes for each shot. This was key to recording the right shot. This also lengthened today's shooting to about four hours. We are then picked up by the LYFT driver, who is acted by my brother. Once the characters entered the LYFT car they asked the driver some questions but he would not respond. The characters found this odd, then the driver pulls over by a forest and attacks the characters inside the car. In the next scene we cut to the serial killer (Daniel) dragging two big, black garbage bags and a pick axe into the forest. For this scene we did not want to show the attack directly, since our objective was to have the audience imagine how the characters were killed.

Planning for Filming During Break

March 21

    I am so happy we are going to spring break! I talked to Reeves yesterday and we planned to film today, March 21, after school. We planned to film the scene where we woke up and got killed by the serial killer but unfortunately, it was raining. We decided to postpone the filming for tomorrow Friday hoping we would have a better day. We are going to his grandparent's house again because the scene has to be filmed where we left off which was us blacking out.

March 22

    Today is Friday morning, March 22, and we are planning to film at Reeves's grandparents’ house. We wanted to start filming early in the morning but unfortunately, it is raining. We are going to film once it stops raining during the afternoon. It has been raining all day in Weston and we cannot film in these weather conditions. We will try tomorrow Saturday, March 23 again with better luck.

March 23

    Today is Saturday and unfortunately, we had to cancel filming today. Reeves's friend, Rui, could not come to shoot so we decided to cancel it again. We plan to shoot tomorrow Sunday after Reeves comes back from church. I am getting worried because I will be traveling Monday morning, March 25, I will be going on vacation with my family and we still need to shoot the last shots of the film. I will be back Saturday late afternoon and plan to meet with Reeves for final adjustments and maybe reshooting if necessary.

March 31

    Today is Saturday, March 30. I just came back from vacation with my family. It is 5:30 pm, I called Reeves so we can meet to shoot tonight once I get to Weston but he told me he could not meet today because it is his mom's birthday so now I am really freaking out. After all, tomorrow is practically the last day to finish filming and start editing. 

Target Audience

Since this is my first horror film opening, I did research on the type of audience that watches these films and the information I got is going to help me understand what they want to see in horror films which will ultimately help improve the opening of the film with these people in mind. In addition, this will also help me formulate my answer for one of the questions in the CCR.

Age: Although older audiences may sometimes be drawn to horror films, teens and young adults are generally the target audience. Teenagers and young adults are often drawn to the excitement, adrenaline rush, and thrill that horror film offer. They might also 

Gender: Now there is a balanced gender distribution in horror audiences. But males gravitate more to slasher films while females are more into supernatural horror or psychological thrillers. 

Location: Horror films are popular around in many regions around the world, but preferences may vary based on geographic location. Preferences for horror themes and styles may vary depending on one's culture. For example in the United States has a variety of subgenres from supernatural thrillers to slasher films, while in Asian horror films they tend to include elements of folklore, like ghost stories. 

Education and income: People from different backgrounds and education levels watch horror films. People might think that your income and education play a factor in the types of movies they watch but it actually doesn't have to do with anything. Anyone could be a fan of horror films.

Interests: This audience enjoys the suspense and the feeling of not knowing what will happen next. It's like going on a roller coaster ride, where they get an adrenaline rush. The target audience enjoy the special effects and creepy monsters ore creatures in horror films. Others also like these films because they are curious about scary things and they find it exciting to see how the characters in the films deal with fear and scary situations. Moreover, another reason why people watch horror films is because it has a cathartic release where they can immerse themselves in a fictional world where the can experience fear and other intense emotions in a controlled environment.

 

Editing Research

Editing scary movies requires precise timing to create effective jump scares and maintain tension throughout the film. Editors must know when to cut to heighten suspense or reveal frightening images. Balancing the release of tension while keeping the story engaging is crucial. Since I don’t have any experience editing horror films I did research online and found an article with techniques of how to edit horror films called “Editing for horror: creating suspense and dread through post-production” and I also found a blog in Filmstro called “ Horror Movie Editing: how to add the scare factor in your film” I will be using these techniques to edit my horror film.

The speed of how scenes change in the movie controls the feeling you get while watching it. I will be deciding when to make things tense and when to give the audience a break with calmer scenes. Additionally, I will be adjusting the speed of cuts so I can manipulate the duration and intensity of scary moments. A slower pace makes the audience feel uneasy, while fast cuts make things feal chaotic and scary. I will also use pacing of the scenes at the beginning to set the mood with suspense and tension, making the whole movie more exciting to watch.

In creating a tense atmosphere for horror films, focusing on the background is crucial. I will be using movement and details in the background to create a sense of immediate danger, increasing suspense and creating anticipation. With this technique I plan to engage the audience by allowing them to perceive something the characters haven't yet noticed, intensifying the viewing experience and eliciting audible reactions from viewers.

Additionally, selecting the right music is important for setting the mood in tense or terrifying scenes. I will be choosing a background score that enhances the impact of memorable cinematic moments, increasing tension and suspense. Music serves to build anticipation and enhance the overall sense of fear. I might use silence also because it is a powerful tool for creating chilling atmospheres when used strategically.

Ultimately, the editing process shapes the emotional impact of the story, determining the audience's connection to the film. I will pay great attention to detail, to ensure that my horror film opening delivers its intended effect during the killing scene of Dan.

Filming Day #3

This is taking a lot longer than I expected. But we are almost there. We just finished filming the scenes of the hangout and we had to redo some of the shots that we completed in the previous days of filming. The reason why we had to make some changes is because in one of the shots that we had included a new character was not able to show up. Therefore, we just decided to get rid of that shot and replace it with another, but this time it will be in another location before we were on the sofa that was outside and this time it will be us getting drunk in the jacuzzi next to the pool. This means that we will use the sofa location for another shot.

Before:

After:

From left to right (Rui, Reeves, Me)

I also decided to change the reason why we leave. Therefore instead of having the characters leave during the night while they are still drunk, they will pass out due to being drunk and wake up the next morning. When the wake up hang over the then decide to leave a go back home. I decided to change this because both of us do not have time to film during the night since we have to wake up early due to our schedules. Below is the shot of us passed out. I changed the shot of us being drunk on the sofa to the jacuzzi. Therefore, we decided to use the location for us being passed out.

Another thing in the future that I decided to change is the location and of how the character will be killed by the serial killer. Instead of Dan being killed in his own house I decided to make the killing in a forest to make the setting more spooky and creepy. Reeves came up with this idea because he goes there every so often with his friends and he said that he has found and heard creepy things when he and his friends were in the forest. Filming in this location is also more reasonable now because we will be filming during the day for the killing scene. It would be to dark and dangerous if we filmed at night. One thing we don't plan on changing is the serial killer. His friend will still be the serial killer as a matter of fact he says that he will drive him home but actually lures him to the forest to attack him.

 

Filming Day #2

 3/17

Yesterday was the second day of filming. Let's goooo! Unfortunately, though we had to start all over again because one of the cast members who was in the previous day of filming was not able to show up because he had to do a big project for another class. Therefore, it was just me, Reeves, Rui, and the cameraman Luke. My brother was the one who could not show up. This did not stop us though we had to work with what was available. We decided to begin from the beginning with just three people hanging out at a friend's house. 

Something good from this video is that my partner Reeves was able to get a stand for the phone. This was very helpful throughout the filming because it really helped the cameraman keep the phone stable. Once we got everything like the plastic cups, the deck of cards, and the golf balls then we started shooting. The first shots we did were of us playing with a deck of cards then it moved to us playing cup pong with the golf ball. Afterward, a friend of Rui (Jordan) showed up at Reeves's house so then we thought maybe we could include him in the opening to make it seem like the hangout is more full of people. Jordan is also experienced with photography so he also gave us some tips for the movement of the camera and lighting of the film. For example, we have these big lights that we brought outside to make the image in the camera brighter so that we could see clearly what was going on in the shots. Well Jordan said that those lights were great but it was too bright for the camera so he suggested to block some of the light with something black. We decided to block it with a black computer case since that was the only thing we could find. 

We did not finish filming all the hangout scenes but I am confident with what we completed. So later today we plan on filming during the day so stay tuned for the next blog because we have decided on changing a few things. The reason we are making some changes is because we have realized that we need more time during the day to work on this project. After all, we are staying up too late working on it and we most of the crew has to wake up early to do other things. Therefore we believe that this works better with our schedules. Yesterday I realized that not everything goes as planned so you have to work around it and find solutions to make things work. 

Creative Critical Reflection

3/16

This Tuesday was eye-opening. Merely because in my AICE Media class we got news that the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR) was 20/50 points. For CCR each group member has to create at least two different media products that in total answer four questions on the planning of the production and the final product. During class, we saw past presentations which I thought was very helpful since it allowed me to see what the CCRs are supposed to look like. In addition, we also discussed how we could improve each one of the projects. At first I was a bit confused on why some of the CCR needed some improvement because I thought that they were pretty good until I realized that I had to include a lot more things than I expected. We need to try to make the presentation engaging.

An important aspect that I took from Tuesday's lecture is to not have a talking head. Meaning that I should not show myself speaking in front of the Camera for the entire time I answer the question. Things that I could do to prevent this is to include inserts of the specific thing that I am referring to in my questions. Another important detail that I need to keep in mind is to create a script for the answers to the questions, so that I have an idea of what I am supposed to say and not just wing it. Furthermore, I found out that we also need to include music and more camera movement to make the video more engaging. I'm guessing that the Cambridge graders get bored of watching various videos of people just talking in front of the camera for the entirety of the CCR. Don't worry Cambridge I will try my best to make my CCR engaging. Lastly, the other important thing that I have to incorporate is research, which I have already done in my previous posts therefore I will just grab info from my research blogs and include them in my answers. 

Below are the notes that I took from the lecture in class.  

The media products that I will be creating are the director commentary and the other will either be the presentation with a voiceover or a talk show. Another option is to create an interview like 73 questions from Vogue. Moreover, since this part of the project is worth many points I have to dedicate a good amount of time to creating an engaging and creative video for Cambridge. To do this I will have to include music, inserts, and research.

As of now, I am focused more on the filming but as soon as I finish filming, which I will be doing later today, then I we bring all my attention to creating two CCR products.

Props

3/15

Today I will be discussing the different props that my partner, Reeves, and I will be using for our production. 

We will be using plastic red cups to illustrate that the characters are drinking alcohol. To further illustrate that our characters are drinking alcohol is using a brown paper bag with a bottle inside that contains any type of liquid that isn't actually alcohol. Only one of the characters will be holding a paper bag because I feel like it will look weird if everybody was holding a bottle of wine or champagne. Therefore the person that will be holding the paper bag with the bottle will be pouring the drink into the red cups that everybody else is holding.

Moreover, we will also be using golf balls for the shots where the characters are playing cup pong. "What golf balls?" you may be asking. We weren't able to get pong balls for the cup pong game so we decided to use golf balls since they are the closest thing that looks like pong balls and Reeves so happens to have hundreds of them because he plays golf. The only problem with this is that the golf balls knock down the cups easily when thrown so water will be going everywhere. Therefore, we have to try to shoot this shot in one scene because the ping pong table and the characters clothes will end up looking wet for the other shots. We will also leave this shot for last.

Another prop that we will be incorporating in the hang out scene is a deck of cards. The deck of cards are so common when hanging out with friends that we had to include it so that our viewers can feel a sense of relatability. We will show this prop by making a shot of the group of friends sitting together and playing a card game. I also plan of using the deck of cards to create a graphic match to emphasize a time skip of everybody being too drunk and tired.

Now for the scene of the murdering we will use a gold club as a weapon to attack Dan. We will also use a knife at the very end of the film opening when the serial killer kills Dan. No we are not going to use any type of blood for this scene. Why? Well because we thought to take a different approach of making the audience hooked. Instead we are just going to have a shot in the complete darkness of Dan screaming to illustrate that he has been stabbed by the knife. This will have the audience hooked to watch more because it creates a sense of curiosity to know why he was screaming or how was he killed. Therefore it will also make the audience think and use their imagination, which is a way to keep the audience engaged.

First day of shooting

3/10

Finally! We have begun filming. I have been waiting for this moment because this is the fun part of the project. 

We decided to have more of a hang-out between a group of four friends instead of having a party because it is easier to control a smaller group of people. Therefore, the serial killer is going to be me, the person on the right with the black shirt, and the victim is Reeves. My brother and a friend of Reeves (Rui) played as the friends of Dan and the serial killer. In the picture below Rui is the person on the very left and my brother is between Reeves and myself.

It was a lot more time-consuming than I expected and we did not film as much as I wanted to. What we accomplished was that we filmed various shots of the group of friends fooling around at the hangout. For example, in the picture below is a shot of friends drinking alcohol and just hanging out. Other shots that we took were of us playing cup pong, cards, soccer, and basketball. So we pretty much just filmed the first couple seconds of the opening. 

A reason why we weren't able to complete everything we wanted was that we were honestly fooling around for around 30 to 50 minutes so we did waste some time there. Another reason we weren't able to finish all the scenes that were going to take place in Reeves's backyard was because we started too late. We started at 9:30 pm and out of nowhere it was 12 am midnight. This definitely won't happen again because now we know what to expect on how our days of filming will look. Therefore, we need to modify our schedules on the days of filming so that we can start earlier than last night. This is because this is the number one priority if we want our project to be developed well and on time. This isn't a problem though because now we know what to expect for the next days to come. From now on we will begin filming at around 7:00 pm therefore all cast members have to be by Reeves's house at 6:30 pm so that we can get everything ready and explain the roles to each cast member. Oh, and we have to stay disciplined and not fool around.

Font

3/9

Black Out. That is what Reeves and I decided on naming our film opening. We decided on this title because the character Dan passes out at the party. Another reason we chose this title is because at the end of the film opening the serial killer shuts down the lights and proceeds to harm Dan while he is screaming in the dark. Therefore, the title "Black Out" has a significant meaning in our film. 

Yes, a font should try to grab the attention of the audience, but it should also set a tone for the film that will help convey a message. For example, the movie "IT" has sharp angular red lettering that looks aggressive. This type of lettering creates a feeling of danger and insecurity in the audience. Another example is the film "The Shining", even though its lettering is simple, it is still impactful. It was a bright yellow background that makes the black text stand out. Moreover, the color yellow implies danger and caution to the audience. Therefore color in a title is another aspect that helps convey a message and set a tone.

After gathering all this information I have decided on having the color of the text Black Out as black. This color makes the most sense for my film because of its dark plot. I was thinking about making it red because there is a lot of murdering in the film but I feel like red doesn’t fit in the title since the title literally has the word black. Another reason I changed red to black is because the serial killer kills his victims in the dark like at the end of my opening film therefore we never see the color red due to the person being in the dark.

Changes on Project

3/6 

We have made changes. In my previous post on group meeting I found out that I had to make some changes for my portfolio project because our story has stalking which is what my teacher said not to do. Then we realized that it wasn't a big problem because when we asked Mrs. Stoklosa about our situation she said that we could keep everything except for the shots that suggested that the film was about stalking. Therefore, we decided to take out all the stalking and point-of-view shots. The reason we thought to eliminate the point-of-view shots during the scene where Dan is walking home is because those were the shots that Reeves and I originally planned to use to indicate to the audience that the serial killer was stalking Dan. 

We came up with a different approach.  We will changed the point of view shots of the serial killer to alternate shots like a long shot or medium shot of Dan. This doesn't mean that we are not going to incorporate any POV shots of the serial killer, at the end of the opening it will show the POV of the serial killer approaching Dan to murder him. We are only getting rid of the POV shots of the serial killer following Dan. Therefore, the plot will go from a serial killer stalking and kidnapping to a serial killer hurting or murdering other people.

I also plan on adding a time skip during the party scene. We will accomplish this by shooting a jump cut. For example, it will go from a montage of Dan and his friends partying and having the time of their lives to various shots of the backyard being trashed and everybody being super drunk and wasted. This will create a feeling of Wow, what just happened, in the audience.

This is the new shot list:

Shot 1: Establishing long shot 

Shows the entrance of the house and then a long shot of pool party.

Shot 2: High-angle long shot

Shows another angle of the pool party .

Shot 3: Medium shot 

Shows focus on two people who are friends and also shows the background of the party.

Shot 4: Wide shot

Shows people jumping into the pool.

Shot 5: Multiple medium shots

Multiple shots of people drinking, and playing games. This is to show that the party is getting out of hand.

Shot 6: Medium shot

Different angles of the backyard being trashed (cups, drinks, and paper everywhere) and everybody being wasted.

Shot 7: Jump cut to close up to medium shot

Dan wakes up and realizes he blacked out because he got really drunk.

Shot 8: Medium shot 

Two friends shown at the beginning realize how drunk they are so they leave the party (tracking shot).

 

Shot 9: Medium shot

Show the friends walking down the street.

Shot 10: Medium shot 

Displays one friend in the background walking entering his house and the other friend (Dan) continue walking. Is focused on Dan. 

Shot 11: Medium shot

Back of Dan walking down the street.

Shot 12: Long shot

Displays a long shot of Dan walking alone

Shot 13: Medium shot

Dan thinks he sees someone following him but does not put much thought into it.

 

Shot 14: Medium shot 

Dan walks into his house and does not close the door.

Shot 15: Point of view shot

Displays POV. In POV there is a shadow of a person in the background.

Shot 16: Medium shot

Dan looks to see who's in his house and then turns around.

Shot 17: POV

After turning around there is a jump scare of the serial killer attacking Dan.

Shot 18: Wide shot

Dan strapped to the chair in bottom left third of frame. Serial killer on the right third picking something.

Shot 19: Point of View

POV of serial killer picking weapons from the table.

Shot 20: Close up

Shows Dans face to get his reaction and scream for the end of the film opening.

Film and Editing Schedule

3/3

I am looking forward to shooting the scenes the following 2 weekends because it is when I have the most time to dedicate to my project. This is the part that I enjoy the most because I get to put in practice everything that I have learned during the year and I can display my ideas and hard work. My shooting schedule includes 3 days, all during weekends. The first two days of shooting will be March 9 and 10th, I will be filming at different times during the day so I have the option of choosing the best scenes. For the last day of shooting, I want to spend it making any last minute changes or shooting one last time and editing. This is scheduled for Sunday March 17. It is possible that I won't finish editing on March 17, in that case I will schedule an extra day just for editing on March 31, this gives me more flexibility and extra time to work on what is needed to finish the project. By the way this schedule is not 100 percent established because I might have to change it so that I can be more flexible if something comes up. But it is still important because it helps me set a goal and keep me on track.

    March 3

Planning of schedule and looking for props.

    March 9 

Go to 1st location , bring props, shoot and edit.

    March 10

Go to 2nd location bring props, shoot and edit.

    March 17

Make last minute changes, shoot if necessary and edit.

    March 31

Last day to edit.

Group Meetings

Today was disappointing but possibly for the better.

In my AICE Media Studies class, we got into groups of six, where one person would go one at a time to tell the group about their progress in the portfolio project. After the person finished talking then other people in the group would comment, give ideas, and ask more questions about their project. I feel like this activity really helped me and other students because it helped us realize our mistakes and problems. For example, one of the people that were in my group had too much going on in her storyboard so she was worried that it would not all fit in the two minutes. Therefore, another student gave her an idea that would shorten or cut out many of the shots she was planning to include.

For my part, I did not get very good news. As soon as I said that a serial killer would be stalking the group of friends at the party, one of the people that were in my group meeting said that Mrs. Stoklosa (my teacher) did not want anybody to make a film opening that had to do with stalking or kidnapping. This put me in shock because I totally forgot that my teacher said that. Therefore, this made me really nervous because all that I have researched and planned for the plot of my film would go down the drain, and I also have a limited amount of time to work on this project.

At the end of class, my partner and I met up and discussed what other classmates said about our project. Surprisingly, no one from his group meeting said anything about the teacher not wanting a film opening on stalking. He said that they actually liked our idea for the film opening, so I was confused and asked myself "Did Mrs. Stoklosa actually say no stalking or did my group misinterpret something that she said," "Maybe I'm actually safe?!" Therefore, Reeves and I decided to ask Mrs. Stoklosa if making a kidnapping/stalking film was permitted. 

Unfortunately, she did say no kidnapping/stalking for the theme of film openings. It does not matter though, my partner and I will work past this problem to create an even better opening than we originally planned. It won't be easy but thankfully we got each other's ideas, and we have two brains to think of better ideas. In addition, I also got great ideas from my classmates from the group meeting that will help me improve some of my original ideas and other great ideas that will assist me in creating a new storyline for my opening. For this reason, there is no reason to cry but to keep moving forward.