Fonts???

Recently in our last class the group and I started discussing on what type of fonts we would use to show the credits and the title of the movie. So, I started researching and deciding which fonts would fit the theme the best. During my research I came across an article (click here for more) that explained the font process really well, in fact, this is a quote that really stood out to me

"A nice attractive font can make an entire difference on a film, bringing it from an amateur level to professional."

This shows that the type of font used in a film can make or break it, therefor people must take this step seriously and choose a font that grabs a viewers attention, but at the same time is simple.


Here are some of the fonts that I have in mind:

Credits

EB Garamond

Credits

Courier New

Credits

Merriweather

Credits

Oswald

I chose these fonts because they are not only easy to read, but they also can do a good job bringing a thriller vibe to the film depending on how it is placed in the opening. Right now I am leaning towards the second font, but this takes time and discussion from all the group members because as said in the quote a font can bring a film from an "amateur level to professional".

I know this is a short post guys, but stay tuned for my next post where we will be making the props and showing pictures of how they turned out!

Sources:

Typography And Titles in Film. (2014, April 16). Retrieved from https://filmshortage.com/typography-and-titles-in-film/

Revising 👀!!

Well this week has been a very stressful week for me due to SAT and all the tests I had, but the group and I were able to make some revisions to our storyboard based on our meetings and ideas. Remember our ideas and scenes are always prone to changes, so if you guys have any suggestions just leave a comment and i'll be sure to look at it.

Here are pictures of our revised storyboard:

As you guys can see during this scene we decided to be more specific with some of the shots, such as:
- Cemetery scene will be shot at Markham park
- The names will be shown (headstones)
- The transition used will be flashy (black to          white or other way around)
- This is a FLASHBACK (beginning of movie is the end)



On this page, we just added more detail to the scenes, for example:
- The clock sound will be made through Foley to enhance the sound
- The close up of the water faucet will be made through Foley as well
- When the knob shakes we will here it as well
- The red arrows show that all those shots will be cuts (no transitions)                                                                                                                             
This last page included some scenes that we added a little more detail too, such as:
- We added a square around the paper to show where to zoom
- We added emotion/ action to show frustration
- We showed a possible symbol that might be shown (still deciding)


One of the aspects that we are looking on improving next is too make dialogue for the scenes, although we are planning on having a silent movie to reinforce the fact of thriller vibe, there will be some dialogue.


I was reading an article (click here to learn more about it) based on the creation of storyboards and this quote really stood out to me and thought that I should tell you guys because it is exactly what we are trying to do

"But remember, a long journey begins with a single step, so begin by breaking the screenplay down into small steps, or shots."

I decided to show this because it shows how this is all a process and it has to be broken down step by step. This is why we first made the storyboard, now we revised it and made it with more detail, and then the next time we will add more information because the storyboard is the film and if done correctly will determine the outcome of it.


Sources:
Storyboarding Your Film. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dummies.com/art-center/performing-arts/filmmaking/storyboarding-your-film/

Eyes on the prize (location scouting)

Welcome back to the blog guys! The group and I have finally started scouting the location for our first scene in the opening, which is the "cemetery" scene. One of the group members went out and took pictures of some areas that are located in Markham Park that we might use.

Here are some pictures that we retrieved:

Out of these pictures the Location that we believe will fit the tone of the scene the best is the figure on the top left, as well as the two pictures on the bottom. These are the ones that we decided to go with because they are open enough to seem like a cemetery and the lighting will be easy to deal with, as you can see we can make the picture darker by going at different times of the day. This isn't 100% confirmed yet, but it is most likely where we will be shooting the graveyard scene. This isn't all though, we are also thinking about this spot because we are able to add the headstones, flowers, and props onto the land easily, and it would look like it belongs there because of the grass.

Stay tuned because in my next blog i'll be talking about the changes that the group and I have done to the storyboard and the type of dialogue that we might include as well. Have a great days!

All hands on deck

Hey guys! I am so happy to be announcing that we finally started working on the props for our production. I've mentioned this on one of my last posts but briefly, so i'll be going into depth as to why we need the props that we will make and how we will make them.
These props include:
- Blood
- Gravestones


Blood
This is a very important element in our film opening because it will help establish the thriller vibe that we need. We have looked through many different recipes to try figuring out which blood we would like to use and we chose one that we found on an article by Good Housekeeping. We chose the oxygen depleted blood because we plan on using in a scene where the blood would be dry and darker red.
Recipe:
- 2/3 cup of chocolate syrup
- 1/3 cup of Tide detergent
- 4-6 cups of red food coloring


Gravestones
As one of our first props that will be used, this has to be perfect and draw the viewers attention. Therefore, we put a lot of time and research into developing this prop. Not only did we want it to look like a real gravestone, but we also wanted to include the names of the characters that died on them. We are still deciding on whether to buy a gravestone or make it, for now we are leaning towards us making it because we need to include the peoples names and make it look realistic (texture). 
Here is a video on how we are planning on making them:

 


Sounds:
This is another important element that the group and I started looking into. In this blog i'll be showing the two main sounds that we will be making through Foley. In order to make these we will be using a microphone to really capture the sounds in detail.

- Clock ticking/ pencil tapping

• To make this sound standout and create a sense of thrill, we decided to create the sound the same way as the pencil tapping on  a desk (later scene in the opening). Therefore, to make this all we will do is put a microphone close to the pencil tapping on the desk and follow the tick of the clock so the timing is on point. 

- Door slamming

• We decided to create an emphasis with this sound because it helps convey the message that the kid is frustrated for having to go. During this scene the mom walks into the room and takes away the pencil, by getting frustrated at this it shows how he is somewhat of a psychopath. As you guys also know later on we reinforce this message by showing the pictures and symbol on the walls. The Foley will be made with the same microphone and books falling on the floor. We haven't decided yet whether to make it with an actual door or with the books, but it's an idea.

Just in case you guys wanted to see a little bit more on Foley sounds and how they are created, I found this video on Vimeo that was extremely useful for the group and I. Please watch the video because it demonstrates how we want to use Foley in our film opening, with the timing and emphasis of the sound like the guy demonstrated.

Sources:

Vigoreaux, G. (2018, November 05). How to Make Fake Blood for Halloween. Retrieved from https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/how-to/a35075/how-to-make-fake-blood/

EHow. (2017, July 17). How to Make Cardboard Tombstones. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUYWzxHRUyo

The Foley Artist. (2019, March 07). Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/124053378

Getting everything together (storyboard/ shooting schedule)

Hey guys, I am so excited to show you the storyboard that the group and I created. Now I have to say it isn't the best drawing ever, but it gets the point across for us to visually see the scenes. Many people choose to do storyboards online or with index cards, but the group and I decided to make it on a template that our teacher provided because it was organized and had space for comments as well. If you guys would like to use it some day here is  link to the worksheet.

This isn't completely set in stone, there are still some changes that might occur. So keep in mind that in the future we might have to upload another post on our "final" storyboard.

As you guys can see there are some question marks in areas that we need to still plan out and as soon as we figure out those details we'll post about. This was a very important step in creating our film opening because it makes time management extremely efficient and allows the group to be on the same page. As said by Vyond Team in an article

"While it may take you a little while to put your storyboard together, in the long run it will save you time in revisions later.

Not only will it help you explain your vision to your team, but it will also make the creation process go more smoothly."

This quote, that I retrieved from a website, shows the reason as to why story boarding is an effective way to plan and set up a film. Not only does it help a team get organized, but it also allows for feedback to occur through the process, which will all in all make the project better.

Shooting Schedule:

These are the days that we plan to shoot the film, but this might always change and will constantly be updated. For now we will try following this schedule and as you can see we start filming on 3/ 20/ 19 because first we have to get all the props and locations done.

Be aware of more upcoming posts because we are just starting to get into the fun stuff!


sources:

Team, V. (n.d.). What Is A Storyboard And Why Do You Need One? | Vyond. Retrieved from https://www.vyond.com/resources/what-is-a-storyboard-and-why-do-you-need-one/

5 heads are better then one!

Welcome back to my blog guys and in my AICE Media Studies class today we did something new. We were assigned into different groups, not including members of our own, to explain the concept, story, props, and format of our opening. In my opinion, this was an extremely helpful activity because not only were the people in my group able to give me ideas from a different viewpoint, but also I was able to help them out as well and maybe even see if they were having the same problems as me.

To begin with, the group was very helpful in discussing how I can resemble the presence of a psychopath and not lead the audience to think of something else. Since the beginning, my group and I have been wondering how we will lead the first part of our scene (gravestones) to the psychopath that will be in our movie. As you can see from my outline in the last post, we were thinking that the mom finds a paper, but this group meeting suggested that I show the whole room towards the end and the viewers will see a mark or a specific prop that demonstrates how he might one day kill his family. This was  very good idea because as they said, "the viewers wont have to make such a big inference" and I 100% agree with them.

Another thing that we discussed in the group meeting was that the psychopathic character should be wearing all black or dark clothes to resemble a "dark side" in him. Also, in order to make the graveyard scene look realistic they suggested that I include flowers, a coffin maybe, and dark lights so that the rest of the background isn't seen.

All in all, I found this group meeting to be extremely helpful and the people involved were very friendly and overall gave me very good ideas to make the project seem realistic and have more purpose. As said in an article (click here to learn more about article)

"Effective feedback helps individuals to understand what they did well and what they could do better. Once they know what is good and what isn’t, they are able to adapt their behaviour and work to improve it. Thus, feedback is a key tool for improving both individual and team performance."

As we can see through feedback we learn how to improve ourselves and work, therefore, this is why this activity was extremely helpful and I hope to do this again in the future.

See you guys later on my next post!

Sources:

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.alchemyassistant.com/topics/ULAu7UpjmhK9bPu6.html

Outline ✅

I have very exciting news today guys, the group and I have finally figured out the story an have created an outline for it. Not only that, but we also have some exciting things planned to continue moving forward in the project but this post will serve mainly to explain and introduce my outline.

Here is a sample of our first outline, this might vary from member to member because we all decided to make our own outlines and probably later this week we will choose who's will be used, so stay tuned!

The outline is made with pencil so that we can erase and write
 over it if we ever feel like a change has to be made

This outline might change as we progress through the project, but the goal that we intended to reach was to have a story formed. Due to this is why we decided to make the outline in pencil, so that if any changes occur we can easily erase the mistake and update the contents.


We made this outline as detailed as we could for now but as soon as we figure out the dialogue of the project we will be rewriting and adding that to the outline as well. This is no problem though because as said in an article (click here to see more on article).

"The great thing about the outlining process is that it’s freeing. When you outline you can make tons of changes to your story without the pressure of writing or rewriting the actual screenplay. You’re free to play with your idea and get your plot points structured correctly without stressing about writing snappy dialogue or finding a cool way to describe your car chase."

As you guys can see this is just the first draft of the outline and it can change many times, all that matters is that we have a plan and guidelines so when its time to film all we have to do is look at the outline.


Stay Tuned for our next postings, as we will be talking about our storyboard, locations; and shooting schedules! See you soon...


Sources:

How to Outline Your Screenplay. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.finaldraft.com/learn/how-to-outline-a-screenplay/