Character Development

 Once we presented our instructor our original idea, she had a plethora of suggestions and revisions for us. Upon hearing these, we had improved our plot idea and came up with a new story. Our original idea had issues with the plot and brought many complications with how it would be filmed. Our instructor also said that the concept was very repetitive, referring to the knife-murder plot.

Our new plot had two people who had been involved in a lethal car accident. More specifically, about the effect of said car accident on the survivor of it, since one would die and the other would not. We would represent character development by showing how happy and upbeat the “survivor” is pre-accident. After the accident, a 1 year time gap will take place. The character development would be represented through the effect it has on her. This will be shown through hallucinations like seeing the dead companion in the corner of the room, and seeing things that are not actually there.

The character development we aim to show is the effect of losing a loved one during a tragic accident. We will do our best to represent the emotion that matches our project most: grief. Our character will represent the “film opening” segment of a film because it sets up the rest of the piece to dive into how our character overcomes this grief and moves on. 

Portfolio Project Storyboard

 

Portfolio Project Plot

Media Theory

 The media theory that I would like to incorporate in my project is Stuart Hall's reception theory. It states that the interpretation of a piece of media is based on how the audience subjectively views it and how the producers intended. This would be easy for our project since it is more of a psychological horror. This means that some scenes would have meaning that are more open ended in terms of context. The audience would be able to draw conclusions between certain scenes. This interpretation paired with the suggested way the scene was supposed to go, is very telling towards what the film is intended to be

The reception theory dictates how fans interact with their favorite pieces, and how it works. Under this theory, the reading of the media text is directed by the audience and the producer at the same time. That being said, media theory is a very important concept in the film world. It will almost be a necessary concept for films in the future since it provides valuable depth needed in a film.

Group Meeting #1 - Reflection

The group meeting that us students had with each other provided very valuable insight to all students involved. It allowed us to present our ideas to each other in a way that had reinforced our idea as a whole. Getting the opportunity to put our portfolio project ideas in words gave us the opportunity to see what was flawed and what could be improved. The group members who were listening to the presenter of the group had been instructed to constructively criticize any flaws in the presenters idea, which helped the presenter refine their idea.

One of my favorite projects amongst my group was by one of my members, Felipe. His idea was one similar to a previous idea I had drafted, a racing scene. Because of this, when he presented his idea, I was able to effectively deliver criticism and propose what I thought to be the biggest challenges in his approach. For filming a racing scene, these challenges consisted of making the shots look fast paced, interesting, and have variety in the shots. Felipe had already thought of these however, and brought up unique things like the use of drones while filming. He had explained that with drones, he would be able to capture top down shots similar to one of his favorite films, Too Fast Too Furious. This was one of the many excellent ideas presented in my group meeting.

Psychological Horror - Film Openings

Smile 2

The Smile 2 film opening captures the psychological horror genre perfectly in every way. It uses lower lighting to establish those dark tones right from the get go. It pairs this with what’s on screen by introducing a character at the same time. It displays this character to be in distress and going through a conflict, which builds up tension in the audience through the film opening. It also uses loud sounds and stings to create dramatic effects to support what is being shown on screen. These sounds are also effective in creating fear in the audience, strengthening the horror genres aspect.

Barbarian

Barbarian takes a very different approach in its film opening than that of smile 2. Barbarian does not directly display any conflicts, but builds tension in its audience in a different way. It uses sounds to create an uneasy feeling in its audience while showing tamer scenes on screen. It uses the perfect combination of awkward silence and loud noises. It draws attention to certain sounds that people would normally not pay attention to. The question is: why? Barbarian uses these sound techniques to make the audience know that something is surely wrong, without directly mentioning it. This is a very effective technique that is representative of the psychological horror genre.

Him

Him also uses a very interesting approach in their film opening. It shows what would usually be a very usual scene and takes a terrifying twist. Almost like something you would see in everyday life, except something is terribly wrong. This is incredibly effective at developing tension because it does not directly state that something is off, it is only implied. The tension this creates in the audience is extremely representative of the psychological horror genre since it plays mind games with the audience during it.

Portfolio Project Schedule

1. Research 

• find out the genre I want to choose

• find examples of films in that genre

• figure out a basic plot

• find examples of existing openings that can be inspirations for mine

2. Planning

• write script 

• find any music/sounds I wish to use

• storyboard 

• figure out if group members want to act or if we want to use actors

• find actors (if needed)

• find locations, dates, and equipment for filming

• find fonts and style for title and credit texts

3. Production

• film all scenes 

• record any foley needed

4. Editing/Post-production 

• edit clips together 

• re-record foley if necessary 

• finalize title and credit font and style

5. Revision

• make any final small changes/edits 

• analyze to make sure every detail is intentional and justified

• make sure everything is up to par

6. Reflection

• research information needed to write reflection 

• create the reflection

• edit and review CCR (critical creative reflection)

Week One (1/16-1/23)

• begin genre research

• choose genre and start planning narrative/script

• 3 blog posts

Week Two (1/26-2/1)

• finalize genre and basic plot

• find opening examples for chosen genre

• start finding possible filming dates, locations, actors

• start writing script 

• 4 blog posts

Week Three (2/2-2/8)

• research media theories to include in script 

• storyboard 

• group meeting to finalize filming dates, locations, etc.

• 4 blog posts

Week Four (2/9-2/15)

• try to get most filming done

• record necessary foley sounds 

• 4 blog posts

Week Five (2/16-2/22)

• start editing 

• finish first cut 

• record any additional foley sounds if needed

• 4 blog posts

Week Six (2/23-3/1)

• revise editing 

• compare changes and make sure they're justified, if not, change back (play around, see what works and what doesn't)

• research for question #1 on CCR

• 4 blog posts

Week Seven (3/2-3/8)

• research for rest of CCR

• finalize project details 

• finalize CCR

• 4 blog posts

Week Eight (3/9-3/17)

• make sure all elements of project are ready (opening and reflection)

• fix/make any last minute changes if necessary 

• post all elements of project

• 4 blog posts