Where Should I Film?

 For my movie intro, I plan to film on location. This means that I would film in a forest-like setting.

I can only really think of two places like this. The first one is a public, state park called Markham Park. I know this place because its near me and I used to go a lot when I was younger. But if I were to film there I would film on one of the biking or walking trails there are. I went to one of these a few months ago so I'll show you guys some pictures I found on Google and some that I took myself while I was there. 

These are some of the ones I found on Google:

Here are the pictures and videos I took from my phone:

In the pictures you can see some on the places I might want to film if I use this location. You can see the lake right next to the dock I might choose. The dock is not seen too clearly, but you can see what I mean. Honestly, if I were to have chosen any of the other options for this project, I would have still tried to incorporate this place as a location because I think that it is so beautiful. 

The other place I had in mind was one in my neighborhood. It looks similar because it has a lake and some trees. Near the clubhouse area, there is a playground and behind it there are lots of trees and a sidewalk. I couldn't find many pictures of it but its has a similar concept. There are trees and a lake. There is no dock, however, there are a few benches overlooking the lake. This might workout if I choose this location. Anyway, here are some pictures of it:

This is what it looks like from the park, you can't really see it, but it is there behind

This one is the view from above, and you can see all the green area and the trees better

This is the lake 

These are my choices for filming locations for the main portion of the film. The other location would be mine or one of my friends houses for the very last part of the introduction. 

I'll be sure to update you guy's on which is my final choice soon!

 

Change in character!

 Hi guys!

So I wanted to provide an update on my movie intro. 

Before I had said that the two characters would consist of one boy and one girl. But I decided to change it to be two girls. 

The first reason I did this is because the people that I will have staring in it are both girls. 

The story will remain the same with the couple that is already in love and have their adventure together, but they will be a lesbian couple. This adds some representation of that community, I’ll go more into detail in a blog coming soon. 

Anyway, the character will switch from being Antonio to Antonia, and the personality will stay the same. 

It was a little bit of a shorter blog today, but I’ll give more updates soon!

Storyboard

Hey! How are you guys doing?

I want to start this with a little warning of how I am not artistic and I am not good at drawing which is why you will see stick figures. So I’ve been working on my storyboard using a template that I found on Google that I just printed out. I don’t know how long it will be, if it’s necessary (which it might be) I will add more clips as I see fit. This is only the start of it, like I said I don’t know how much more I will need or if I will need to take some out. But here it is!

 

Start of my script!

Hey guys, back again!

    So right now I am in school and we're on a secure procedure, so I thought I would continue working on my script that I had started earlier in the week. I definitely am not sure how I feel about it because reading it on paper, it sounds awkward, but I feel like I have heard someone stay it in real life. So  I want to film it first before I make any changes to the script in case it sounds weird. 

    I used a website called YouMeScript to make it and it has been very helpful and useful. Here's my script so far:

I hope you guys enjoy it so far!

Target Audience

     As you all may know, I plan on making the first two minutes of a thriller film. I wanted to do some research on the target audience of this genre to get a better idea of what I might want to do as well as any changes that I might need to make to the production. 

    So for thriller movies, the target audience is usually young adults and adults, however teenagers may also be intrigued in the genre. To be more specific, the age range for the target audience is 18 to 25 years old. This is because some people are drawn to the maturity of thriller films, whether they include violence, psychological elements, gore, or other things. The audience of these types of film need to enjoy suspense, as it will most likely have lots of elements of this. This genre also includes some dark elements, so the audience would need to enjoy parts of this or elements like this. This might be why it is intended for young adults and teenagers, seeing as though younger people like children might not be interested in these types of elements.

    As I have mentioned many times before, I want to include suspense in the first portion, by using different kind of shots as well as sound and mise-en-scene. Along with this, I also want to try and add in some darker elements. I might do this by using literal darker lighting, or by adding in an specific item or substance, maybe blood or a fake bullet hidden in the ground. Overall, I am glad I did this research because now I have a better idea of how to or what to add into this film opening. 

My Characters!

Update: 

   I decided on the names of the two main characters I want to showcase in my movie intro.

The first one is a 17 year old girl named Kiara. She comes from Hispanic parents and loves to adventure. She really enjoys going to the beach and travelling even if it is half-an-hour away. She also has a very fun personality but takes things very seriously. She will be one of the main characters I will be showing, for now in my plans she will actually be the first face shown in the movie. Here's the mood board that I made for her using Canva: 

Seen here is some of her favorite colors which she might use as inspiration for some of her outfits, some things she likes to do like go to the beach and a mountain range to show how she loves adventure. Some ideas for outfits are here which I think I can try to recreate for the filming project. 

The next main character I would like to showcase is Antonio. He is also from Hispanic parents and loves adventure almost as much as Kiara does. His outfits are neutral but sometimes have a pop of color. He has a very fun personality and is joking around but can be  serious when he needs to be. He will also be in the first two minutes and I hope to capture lots of his personality in the first two minutes. Here is the vision board that I made for him:

So these are the characters I will have in my movie intro. I like them so far, however, I do think that I am going to want to make changes to them as I move on with the project. I hope you guys follow along to see where I take this!

The Chosen Idea!

Back again!

I'm super excited to tell you guys about the plot idea that I chose!

    So the whole idea of this movie is about a serial killer whose main focus is killing in a forest or in the woods. I still haven't decided if I want the place where he is killing to be a popular one upon the nearby city, or just a "secret spot" that some people know about. Anyway, the killer is killing but a couple who loves adventure and thrill decides to try and find out who the murderer is . Obviously throughout the film they would go through many different obstacles and a plot twist I would like to include is this were a full movie would be to reveal the serial killer to be the brother of one of the main characters.

    Starting off my movie, I want it to introduce the two main characters. These two would be a teenage or early adult man and woman who are in a relationship together. They are madly in love and love to go on adventures and love the feeling of thrill. The intro would start off with a few clips of the nature surrounding, sounds of birds chirping and wind through the trees are going to be there but the rest is silent. Suddenly, the sound of a person running and panting is going to fade in then a few clips of a the woman running. Here, she's in a "panic" state and she's is panting and saying things under her breathe. Next, she's going to hide behind a tree an try to catch her breath. Suddenly, a jump scare would happen to show the boyfriend of hers scaring her. At this point in time, the audience doesn't know that they are in a relationship so it would be interpreted as a dangerous situation as well as suspense. Following the jump scare, a quick close up shots, their reactions would be showed then they would both start laughing together, showing the audience that it was never a dangerous situation. Then they will walk to an emptier area and here they would start hearing a gunshot so they leave. Once they get back to their house, the final clip would be of one of them getting mail, and on the newspaper, it reads a story of a serial killer in the woods, which is when they decide to go together to find out who he is, which would lead to the rest of the movie.

    Honestly, at this point in time I don't know if this is all going to fit into two minutes, but I plan on making changes whenever I find it necessary. 

Inspirations!

 Before I start planning my project in full detail and start any part of production, I want to research some movies that are similar to what I want to create.

    The first one I want to use is Scream (1996)

The movie uses various close up shots to show the characters' facial expressions, as well as low-key lighting to add to the suspense in the film. This film also uses diegetic music to add to the feelings of suspense. In the opening scene of the movie, the outside of her house is almost pitch black. Because of this dark color, the brightness on the inside of her house adds a huge contrast. The use of the different sounds in the opening also add to the thrill. The audio of the popcorn popping as well as the phone ringing can make the audience jump. The dialogue itself adds a to the thrill as well. The way that the killer calls out to her by describing her adds suspense to the clips. 

    I want to use some of these techniques in my project. I plan on using the sounds of the outside more than the dialogue itself. The lighting is also something I want to incorporate as well seeing as though it could add lots of thrill to the opening. 

    The next film I want to look at is Run (2020)

 My cousin actually showed me this movie and I've always loved watching it since each time the thrill feels the same as it did the first time. Many scenes in this film add lots of tension which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. In the article I am reading, it talks about how the angles used in the movie show the main character usually through a doorway or a staircase with tight shots to emphasize the emptiness and isolation that the character feels or is in. The movie also uses sound as a way to add tension and suspense to the film.

    Once again, I plan on using the sound techniques and I found it interesting how the main character is always in the middle of the screen adding to the isolation. I want to try and implement that into my project as well to try and add more thrill to the beginning to really get the audience interested. 

The Chosen Genre!

     Hey guys! As I had mentioned before, I decided to use my weekend to plan what I wanted to do for my portfolio project. After lots of thinking I decided that I want to go with the thriller genre. I want to use this posts main focus as a way of showing my research. 

    Thrillers generally build tension using suspense. They're suspense filled, plot-driven stories that can include comedic, interesting, excitement and exhilaration. There are also a few subgenres of thrillers, like action, crime, mystery, spy, and more. In mystery thrillers, which is what I think I might focus on, they usually have investigations. In these movies, the tension usually arises when a character is in a dangerous environment. Some ways to build suspense, is to pose a question and give the character a problem to solve. Low-key lighting is also seen in thriller movies.

    I plan on using lots of questions to let the viewer or audience pay more attention and get them interested in the film. I also want to use an interesting set to try and create a dangerous environment to build suspense in the audience. Along with this, low-key lighting is something I plan to use either while filming, or to edit the lighting in post-production.

    Seeing as though, suspense is such a critical piece of thriller films, I want to try my best to create some even in the beginning, to start of the film strong. 

Here are some of the resources I used in my research:

“Thriller (Genre).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre).

Dunham, Brent, et al. “How to Master Suspense with 5 Film Techniques.” StudioBinder, 13 Sept. 2021, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/elements-of-suspense/.

Portfolio Project Plans!

 Hey guys!

    Finishing the music marketing project, my teacher introduced us to the Cambridge Portfolio project. Basically, we have to make a 2 minute movie intro, and I'm excited to do this project and that I get to document the making of this project here!

    When I first heard about this, I couldn't even imagine what I could do for it. I had no ideas whatsoever. But once I got one idea, the rest of them kept on running through my brain and I came up with so many, that I still don't know which one I will do for the project. I think that there are so many ways to approach this project. I definitely want to start off the project with a good plan of what I would want the film itself to be about, then then think about the beginning of it. I would do this by writing this all in bullet points the basis for the film then plan out how I would start it. Once this is done, I will write a script if necessary then move on to creating the storyboard. The next thing I am going to do is film the different clips and edit them together how I had previously planned on the storyboard. If necessary, I would go through and see what else I need to film to add on to the movie intro. Throughout this whole process, I will go in and make edits to whatever I feel needs it.

    I don't want to give too much away on what I was planning on doing, but I had a few ideas. The first one I thought of was a crime film. It would be about a few teenagers at a party then someone gets murdered while they're there. This idea was always in my head, but I think I am capable of making a better idea. The next idea I had was to begin a thriller movie. It would be about a teenager or two outside, at a picnic maybe, and from there the thriller begins. Another story I was thinking about doing was a romance with something that doesn't let the couple be together. I had a few ideas for a drama film. The first one was of an athlete practicing for an important competition then getting into an accident, the second was about a person hearing something that hurt him or her and how that person moves along in life and how things have changed.

    Those were only a few of the ideas that I had. I definitely want to spend the next few days planning each project really well and deciding on the final one so I can start the rest of the project. I can't wait to keep you guys updated on what I choose and how I move forward!

    

Music Marketing Project Blog Post #2

    In my last post, I talked about the most recent project I got in class, the music marketing project, and how we started planning for it and the thought process of doing it. As I have previously said, my group and I found it super hard to meet up with each other to film parts of the project then put it all together with editing. Finishing the music video, we had to add it into the PowerPoint we had created to market the project to the class. 

    The PowerPoint we created had a special design that seemed as though it would have been associated with the metal genre of music. Included in the presentation was all the previous research we had done. Here, we had some elements like the target audience of the genre, information about the genre itself. 

    Based on our research we found that the target audience for the new metal genre is usually people between the ages of 16 to 25, but that people of all ages are drawn to this type of music. Because we were marketing our new band we had decided that we wanted to target people of all ages to get more people interested in the genre. Along with this, we included some basic information on heavy metal. We told out audience that it has been around since the 1900's, how it expresses some ideas in various topics and that it is also a youth revolt against adult consumerism and conformity. 

    Along with some of the research we had done being included in our PowerPoint presentation, we also added in the ideas for our band. For the band there is merchandise, a website, we also decided that the band would be the first of a new record label that we named "Chamber Records". This way, the band could bring new things to the music industry. 

    On our website, we added the logo of the band as well as links to pre-save our upcoming song as well as to buy tickets. Below that there is a lace where fans could purchase some of our merchandise and following that is a little bit about the bands' background.

           With this, our presentation had some of our ideas for how we would run the campaign as well as some of the selling points we had for the band. 

            Before presenting, my group had decided how we would split up the presentation, and who was going to say the different parts. This helped keep us organized and made the actual presentation flow smoothly.

            Overall this project was very interesting. It helped me learn about a genre of music I was not a fan of and actually do some research on it. Although I still am not a fan of the genre, I'm glad I was able to learn about it and work with it. In doing this project, I learned how much ore goes into the music industry than what I had previously thought. Everything we did with the record label, the marketing, the outline of the campaign, and so much more. I learned to really appreciate music videos and musical artists that are out right now. I did like doing this because it gave me a little insight on what I could potentially do for the Cambridge portfolio project that is coming up soon. Planning the project in depth is definitely going to help me in creating the film intro. Planning out the little details, with storyboards and taking notes as well as discussing with others is very useful.