Production- Obstacles while filming!!

Hey guys!! So today we had our first day of filming and unfortunately we did run into a couple of issues. First, one of the actors was unable to show up to film so we had to tweak the script a little and alter the story. This wasn't necessarily that big of an issue since we weren't fully relying on him to show up since he had told us in an anticipation that he wasn't sure if he was going to make it. We had another idea if this was going to happen so we were prepared. 

Also, we wanted to film inside of a bathroom at the park that we were at but when we tried to open it, it was locked. Since we didn't actually prepare for this and didn't have a back up plan, we had to improvise a little and we ended up making it work. We filmed outside of the bathroom and had the character attempt to enter the bathroom and used it being locked as a feature in the film, since he was getting chased by a killer. 

Another obstacle is that we were filming pretty deep into the forest so a couple times I realized I left some things in my car and had to take the 10 min trek every time. This wouldn't have been a big issue if we had a lot of time, but we were under some time constraints since some of the actors needed to get home, so it was annoying. 

And lastly, my walkman stopped working when we arrived at the park!! This didn't really affect the film since there are no shots explicitly of the walkman working, but I was a little sad to realize this only when we arrived there. Other than these little annoyances, I think filming went pretty smoothly and i'm excited to edit and see how it turns out!!

Production- Costume Creation

So production begins!! I want to start off with the creating of costumes simply because I think that the stylistic choices says a lot about characters and helps introduce them in a quick and efficient way. So since we are doing a period piece for this film opening, me and my partner decided to go thrifting to buy some pieces for the characters to wear. Everything we picked was strategic so that it would fit into the symbols that we wanted to show and also fit the decade that they are living in which is the 80s. 

So for the killer, we wanted her to represent that classic 80s popular cheerleader so of course we had to give her a red letterman jacket which luckily my partner already has!! So it was just a matter of finding pants to wear with it and since mom jeans were so big in the 80s, we thought why not find red mom jeans? Luckily we found some levis at the thrift store and we are very excited that we found them in red since we really wanted her clothes to reflect her ulterior motives like her love but also unstable danger.

For the nerd, we found an old star wars t-shirt which I think is perfect since it looks a little worn out. This shows that the character doesn't really care too much about what he wears and that he has more important things to be occupied with. Also, Star Wars is deemed a little nerdy and was very big in the 80s since the first 3 films came out in that decade and the 70s.

And lastly, for the athlete we found a baseball style shirt which I was immediately drawn to because I think I have seen that style of shirt countless times in film and tv shows that take place in that decade. It's a blue shirt and I think that it's just one of those classic pieces that no matter when you wear it, you will always associate it with something and to me, its the 80s.

Location Scouting

The locations needed for this film are crucial not only for the plot, but to solidify the setting in terms of time period and to establish a little bit of context for the background of the scene. For example, by showing shots of the forest, the audience has the idea that the character is in a secluded area therefore being more vulnerable to any kind of danger. I already had a basis of an idea of where I wanted to film our opening scene which is in the middle of the woods. I used to walk through the nature trail at Markham park and think it would be a very unique and fitting place to film the scene since the mysterious lake that resides next to it could give the whole scene a 'Friday the 13th' type of feel. Also the many trees in the area can be interesting to use to create certain transitions with.

However, a 2nd option that could definitely work well is vista view park. I think that since that park has so many hills, it could be interesting to utilize it maybe have the story not necessarily take place in Florida and maybe another state that has more elevation like Oregon or something. It can also be really cool to film during the sunset with the big hills so it could also fully take place in somewhere like California during the 80s which was known for having a lot of serial killers.

For the 2nd half of the scene, it will take place in a classroom so i'm fully prepared to take the set design into my own hands and transform one of the rooms in my house as a classroom, but just in case, I was thinking of going to the Weston public library and maybe using one of the study rooms or just out in the library if we have to.

Storyboard

 Since i've already written the script, my partner did the storyboard and here it is!

Mise-En-Scene: Props

So for our film, we plan on integrating some horror references/tropes through mise-en-scene elements like the knife the killer is using is a direct reference to the film the love witch, and the bomber jacket the killer wears is also a nod to classic 80s horror films. 

The knife we plan on using is an old one that I had for a costume: 

This knife also kind of resembles the one from scream so it will be another horror reference as well. But to be honest, I don't think it will really matter in the end since it's probably gonna be covered in blood anyways. 

We are doing the whole masked killer thing just because obviously the character isn't stupid enough to kill someone with her identity being easily revealed so we went shopping and found a mask that we are painting to make it fit into our narrative.

This mask is one that could easily be found at any kind of costume store but we are painting mascara stains down its face to represent the extreme angst and sadness that the killer felt towards her ex-lover that she has killed. We are getting rid of the mustache obviously!! But we also plan on incorporating red colors into the mask to further reinforce the whole symbolism behind the character. Her strong themes of love and violence will be a part of every costume and prop that she wears.

Mise-en-scene: Costume

In our film, costume design is used to efficiently show the personalities and backgrounds of the characters. For Elaine, the killer, her red cheerleader-like outfit has two meanings: it shows her popularity but also shows her dangerous and violence. Red is associated with both love and danger, which fits her emotionally chaotic character. The cheerleader outfit suggests she used to be energetic and of high status, but now she’s more intense. The dagger, inspired by the Love Witch, shows that she uses love and violence to deal with her heartbreak.

 

The victim/rich kid's clothes make it evident that he comes from a privileged background, which might make them unaware of the seriousness of the situation. He dresses somewhat like a yuppie wearing quarter zips and fancy designers to reflect this. he doesn't take the situation seriously and this unfortunately reflects on his fate which almost seems symbolic that he is the first victim from the hands of the killer.

The smart kid wears nerdy t-shirts and glasses, showing that he is probably not prepared for this situation, but is the most logical and observant, likely to be the one who figures out important clues. He is probably the most scared out of all of the characters too, but his fear helps him prepare for danger.

The athlete who wears preppy clothes represents someone who wouldn't typically be in this kind of situation. This kid stands out as someone willing to take risks to uncover the truth. For his style inspiration, i'm taking Andrew from the movie 'The Breakfast Club'.

All in all, the characters outfits help illustrate the characters motives and background. Elaine’s outfit shows how she’s gone from a broken lover to a dangerous killer, while the kids’ costumes reflect their different approaches to solving the murder. Overall, the costumes are a key part of telling the story and help the audience understand the characters right away.

Sound Ideas

So for our sound, we plan on using a mix of foley and music to create the tone and environment for the scene. However for the first couple of seconds, it will be primarily foley sounds. Since it takes place in the middle of the forest we will create sounds replicating running through the woods, wind, and more to curate the perfect soundscape. After we create the world that they are living in, some background music may play as the scene intensifies. This first minute scene will use both diegetic and non diegetic sound. 

Some sound ideas I have found that are non copyright are these:

-Ominous Pursuit: https://soundimage.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Ominous-Pursuit.mp3

This audio is royalty free and I think could ease really well into the chase scene with the quick pace it begins with and even the 80s synth in the background. I think that it not only fits into theme of the movie, but also helps contribute to establishing the setting, time period, and basis of the story for the rest of the audience. I think this audio will probably be our best bet. It also reminds me a little bit of the 'American Horror Story: 1984' season intro.

-City of the Disturbed: https://soundimage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/City-of-the-Disturbed.mp3

This audio I think we will be less likely to pick just because I think it's a little grungy for our scene and it also sounds a little bit more 90s. It also sounds a little more dystopian almost like it would belong in something from like the walking dead. But I like how calm it is and I think it would definitely make the scene seem very unsettling for the audience if we were to include it.

For after the chase scene, I don't think we will use non diegetic sound just because we want it to be as quiet as possible for the more psychological part of the film. Almost like in a hospital, we want it to be uncomfortably quiet so it seems almost sterile compared to the intense scene that was shown before. This will also enhance the silence even more.

Character Development

Elaine

So for the main character of this story, I chose to name her Elaine. I chose this name after going through some of my favorite horror films and wanting to name the character after another iconic character from the film 'The Love Witch'. The character from that movie is similar to this films character because they are both man killers who at first glance seem completely normal. In our film, Elaine is a normal high school girl who gets a hunger for blood and goes on a frenzy on a boy who wronged her, while in 'The Love Witch', Elaine is an eccentric young widow who seduces men with her witchcraft, but ends up killing them. 

Elaine's character is meant to be misleading. She looks like the 'girl next door' type, but she harbors a darker secret. I take a lot of her outfit and personal style inspiration from the original girl next door, Mary Jane Watson from the Spiderman films. This concept is similar to the Jennifer's body movie in terms of a girl misleading the other characters in the movie, but instead, Elaine will be a lot more school oriented. For example, she may be upset at the boy who wronged her because she feels cheated and almost like she wasted her time, and it just overwhelms her with anger. 

Script

It's my turn to write a script! Luckily i've done this before in other film classes and I did a film program at SCAD dedicated to screenwriting so hopefully I did ok on this. This is just the basis of our story but me and my partner are probably going to go back in and make changes as we keep going forward with this project wether it's new ideas, or updates we need to do, etc. Hope you enjoy it!

Paranoia

I used these images and videos as helpful guides:

Final Summary of Project!

Me and my partner have officially came up with a final plot summary!! After going back and forth on a couple of things, this is what we have come up with:

we want to do a slasher/mystery movie. We want to begin with a chase scene for the first minute where a crazy ex decides to kill her ex boyfriend and gets a hunger for blood. We want to incorporate a lot of elements from other popular slashers such as Texas chainsaw massacres long road chase scene and jump scares like the ones in Friday the 13th, scream, or Halloween. We will utilize tracking shots for the first 30 seconds to follow the victim at first. We want this first minute to have you on the edge of your seat but also set up the rest of the story. We want to end this first minute with a group of kids witnessing this murder and the killer sees them but the kids can't see the killers face. This sets up a timer for the kids to figure out the killer while the killer hunts down these kids. The title card will appear after the kill. 

Then, a matchcut will occur beginning with the kids witnessing the murder, and then them sitting in school. The next minute isn't exactly clear what we want to do but we want the kids to be in a public setting such as school and the kids are all scared in different classes just reliving the killing and seeing the killer in all places. We will include certain elements from other horror films like Suspiria and i'd like to use some creative uses of lighting!

Media Theory

Considering that I am hoping to make my film as artistic and creative as possible, I am hoping of integrating the symbolic code theory. Since I plan on using a lot of unique lighting and set design in my film, I want it to be representative of the events occurring in the film. For example, in one scene, I want the ghost of a friend of the main character to be illuminated in a red light. 

The red color will represent danger, blood, and violence that was unfortunately the fate that fell upon her. The unconventional lighting does create a symbolic representation, but will also further overwhelm the viewer and contribute to a film of disorient and dreamlike feeling. I got this inspiration from the film Suspiria.

We will create a feeling of opposition by creating a dull sense of tone in contrast to the bright and vivid red. In the scenes where she is in the boring environment in class, it will be almost gray and lifeless, this will further communicate the feeling and tone to the audience, and such a strong contrast will almost emphasize the overwhelming feeling that the character is experiencing. 

This juxtaposition will let the viewer know that the main character is not a reliable narrator and is probably not in a healthy headspace. This also makes the viewer want to keep watching and creates the shots visually interesting. 

Group Meeting #1

So today in class, we had our first group meeting and it was really great! I got a lot of positive feedback on my idea and everyone told me that they thought my plan was very creative so I hope it will come out just as good as I imagine it to be. We all helped Octavio come up with his final idea for his project. He was between a gangster film or a romance and we all each gave our own personal input so that he could come up with a decision. Most of us said romance, but gave ideas for gangster film openings if he decided to do it. 

Brianna's idea I thought was super cool. She is doing a psychological thriller about these girls who go to the beach to get drunk and one of the girls, blacks out and the rest of the girls record her and make fun of her and leave her on the beach. The girl wakes up in the beach in the middle of the night with hazy vision and then sees a dark figure walking over to her. The reason why I think this is a fun idea is because, it opens the film to a story and leaves you wanting to know more. I think that films with uninteresting openings often make people want to click off, so this twist from what you think is going to be a coming of age to becoming something more sinister, is a cool way to go about it. 

Ryan has already got his entire story down! He told us the movie he was planning on making and it seemed super creative. The basis of the story was that he was going to have a family that ends up joining a cult but his film opening would begin as a montage of all the family pictures in the house. I think this is a really good idea because it helps build context as well as establish certain kinds of relationships. Then, the camera would zoom out of the picture into the character looking at the photo. I think that although the psychological thriller that he plans on making seems a little complex, he has enough good ideas that he can establish the beginning of the story with the opening, so that audiences can get an idea of where it's going, and would want to keep watching.

Anabella had a very unique idea, she wanted to make a horror film, but wanted to make the opening start off as an argument between a girl and her father. Then, she would somehow incorporate use security camera footage to twist it into a horror. To be completely honest, I don't know how this will turn out, but I saw some of her inspiration shots from the movie 'Paranormal Activity' and I am excited to see the end result. I think it's going to be difficult to shoot, but I think she has a good plan and I think it will turn out great.

And lastly, Leela got a lot of inspiration from some of my favorite movies like Girl Interrupted, Donnie Darko, and Se7en. She wants to go down a more taboo route and talk about mental illness in her short film which I think is very important to be shown in the media so people can be aware about the struggles people may be facing, and for representation. She also wanted to begin her film opening similarly to Ryan with a montage of showing different things. I think this can be great at evoking like melancholic feelings almost like you are mourning a little so I think this is a great approach! I think her project will be fantastic!!