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.