The Chosen Genre: HORROR

The genre for this project will be horror. This genre was chosen because there's a lot more creativity that can be used for this type of film. More practice with makeup and editing will allow myself and my group to really see what goes into the filming for a movie. Horror provides a lot of different elements that merge well with entertaining an audience. It would allow for myself and my group to see what really makes an audience jump and create the most suspense possible. Even more so, horror would allow the group to show their best acting skills when it comes to specific scenes. Horror will capture all the gruesome yet adventurous elements that could really enable an amazing final product overall.

Horror and Romance Genre Research

Horror:
 Codes and Conventions in the Horror genre are unsettling films made to frighten and panic their audience but entertain them at the same time, continuously on their feet and eager for more. 

Camera angles/movements/shots: 

All types of wide shots are often used to show the figures of intruders - the shot hides their identity but still lets us know they're present. Close up shots would be used to focus in on an object or person, like a knife or other weapon or maybe even the fear in someones eyes. Tracking shots are very common to follow the path of someone, in most cases to follow someone running from something/someone or someone running towards something/someone. POV's are used to suggest imbalance, transition and instability. Weird canted angles where the camera is not placed horizontally to floor level give a sense of confusion and suspense along with mystery. 

CLAMPS: 

COSTUMES can differ for each horror film as each have their own stereo-typical designs. The costumes would portray the personality of the characters for example: the dumb blonde that dies first or the protective but wimpy jock that usually is the first to run. Then there's zombies, demons or scary characters like Freddy Kruger. 

LIGHTING is used in horror films to indicate something bad is going to happen. For example shadows or flickering lights. Dark lights give a bad connotation therefore the audience assumes who the bad guy is. Softer lighting around the good guy would help the audience good from evil. 

ACTING is horror films are usually very drawn out and dramatic. There will always be a girl in danger, hurt and crying waiting for help. The bad guy is always seen as rough around the edges and aims to get something/ is out for someone. There's much screaming and hollering and fighting back seems to come into play as well.

MAKEUP can range depending on the horror film. Horror films like the Exorcist will have blood and bruises as part of the makeup look. In some cases, special SFX makeup will be used to really draw out certain features like the eyes or lips or even the body to look morphed and disfigured.  

PROPS Many props are used in horror films to suggest horror for example; Bibles Crucifix Paintings Candles Weapons, The props such as Crucifixes are use as a sign of religion and symbolizing the devil. Paintings can play a big prop to create a dark and sinister scene as well. 

SETTING in horror films are creepy and isolated place to create a strong feeling of suspense. This could be the woods, a deserted city, a haunted house/abandoned building. 

Common editing:

Editing in horror films can be shadow exposure and how much dimming will be used for each scene. Some directors would dim lighting through editing to create a more sinister and scary scene. Quick cutting with fast paced scenes makes the audience feel a sense of urgency.

Common Sound:

 It can be diegetic to allow tension to be created in the film. Fast and loud non-diegetic sounds can be used to make the audience jump and become scared. These can include the voice of the characters, whispers and even footsteps. 

Elements:

 They explore 'malevolent' or 'wicked' characters, deeds or phenomena. They arouse feelings of fear, shock or disgust as well as the sense of the uncanny – as if things are not what they seem. There is a heightened sense of the unknown and/or mysterious.

Example films include: Jaws, The Exorcist, A Quiet Place, Eli, and Halloween w/ Freddy Kruger. 

Elements I like: The killer about to get someone, or a killer about to reveal themselves as someone who the audience would have never expected. 

Elements that don't appeal: Zombies have been over done, and the obvious suspects/victims in horror films who I know will die off first, causing too much repetitiveness. 

Romance: 

The main convention of romance is the two characters going through a heartbreak or 
the couple meet and fall in love, but there is someone who disagrees with the relationship. 

Camera angles/movements/shots:

A mid-shot can be used to establish the scene and introduce the characters. Panning and tracking movements can be used an attachment to two characters going on a romantic stroll. High shots can also set a scene depending on which characters are being shown in that part of the film. Two shots are crucial for the characters in a romantic film to show intimate conversations and closeness between the two. Shot reverse shots allows the audience to view a full range of romantic emotions. 

CLAMPS:

COSTUMES in romantic films tend to be the same throughout. The girl is always wearing something sweet and pretty, floral and airy: a dress. The boy is wearing semi-formal attire like a nice button up shirt and some khakis or long jeans. 

LIGHTING is bright and colorful, with vibrant hues of pinks and red which make the audience feel like their being embraced in a "lovey" atmosphere. There's usually no dark shadows unless to set a mood, like at a romantic dinner where the lights will be darker, but very lightly and romantically dimmed. 

ACTORS are always in a love-stuck position. The only time acting diverts from the basics is when there's a fight scene between the couple. They fight and argue but later rekindle and make-up in most cases. 

MAKE-UP is light and airy. The makeup tends to stick with natural beauty for the girls as that's another basic around romance films. Sometimes the girl will sport a bright red lipstick to accentuate her "date" look. 

PROPS in romance films can include books, flowers (roses typically), gifts, rings, chocolate, jewelry etc. 

SETTING in romance films are places where an audience would typically connect love with. A beautiful beach with a sunrise/sunset, or even big cities where people meet and fall in love. The settings of romance film are usually places here a chance encounter would occur. 

Common Editing: 

Film fast cuts can be effective to hint at emotions and the overall atmosphere of the film depending on what actions are being taken place. Dissolves are frequently used to show a flashback of one character to another to reflect back on what affected the couples relationship. 

Common Sounds:

Violin, guitar and piano sounds are all very common to set a romantic mood for a romance film. A violin can play if the girl is sad, who may have been just broken up with. A piano can play is the couple is about to dance softly into the night at a ball. 

Example Films: Titanic, Dear John, The Notebook, A Star is Born, To all the boys I've Loved Before.

Elements: 

A sympathetic heroine. The heroine is the key to any romance. A strong, irresistible hero. Your heroine and the audience must both fall in love with the hero. Emotional tension where this is the heart of every romance. A believable plot and finally a happy-ever-after ending.

Elements I like: When the romance has a twist, and the couple don't fall in love right away, more of like a catch to the whole plot. 

Elements that don't appeal: Where boy meets girl and vice versa and it's a continuous teenage love story dilemma with immature issues. And always with a sappy ending that doesn't give enough closure. 

Genre Research PowerPoint

This powerpoint was based on the genre action. The first couple slides focus on the lighting, camera movements and angles. Along with this, there were many elements in action films that involve the first "meet" of the bad guys vs. good guys. Action films include a variety of fight scenes that can be both epic and gruesome. Most action films also include very high-paced actions to go along with the soundtrack of the film. There's always a major turning point where someone gets deceived or back-stabbed which is pivotal for all action films. Car chases, shoot outs and intense fighting capture many action films. The unappealing aspects are usually the repetitive scenes. These are scenes or actions that are going to be expected and therefore undesirable to watch. Some example of action films are Kill Bill, John Wick, and Mission Impossible. 

Man or Monster?

The two pitches that was narrowed down for this project was either the action film or the horror film. The first pitch, the action film, consists of a kidnapping as the central theme. The kidnapping focuses on the presidents daughter (not the current president, a made up one), who gets kidnapped as part of a terrorist attempt for money and political change. The terrorist group does not affiliate to any particular group.  The horror is centralized around werewolf/man that tries to murder three girls. This werewolf who is also part man disrupts a group of girls in their home, planning to murder them.

Pitch 1 would be a decent pitch for the assignment, but not the one my team and I are gravitating towards. This is mostly because the kidnapping would not be entirely appropriate but also not practical to do. As there would be a lot of running, shoving, pushing etc, there is a potential of harm in the process. Therefore, this pitch isn't the one that would be picked.

Pitch 2 seems like a better fit for this assignment. It has a more levels of suspense and I feel like a better engagement with the audience. The werewolf/man will be the main character as well as premise for the movie. It would tie in suspense, horror, and better use of costume design and props. There's also more acting involved in this pitch in more creative ways with fake blood and knives for props. Therefore, this pitch seems like a better fit.

The pitch that was ultimately decided was Pitch 2 for this project. The werewolf/man will allow for a better and more intriguing project for the audience overall, adding more elements of surprise and suspense. The team and I have already gathered to discuss scripts for the actors, where to film/ potential locations and costume layout. So therefore, pitch 2 is the teams choice for this assignment and will be planned in the days to come.

Start of the Final Task

My name is Carla Choukroun and I'm from France. I spend a lot of time devoted to watching films and music videos. I have always been fascinated by the special effects in movies. Growing up in South Florida, I loved the beach-themed movies or shows like Miami Vice or Burn Notice. I love to learn and read books to expand my knowledge. I enjoy a really good horror film, with any grueling monsters or demons. Even more so, I'm a very competitive person and I do love being in a managerial position. For this project, I will be with my previous members. These members include Steven, Nagual and Safia. They will have different roles but will all be actors in this project.

I have learned so much, from angles to sounds to transitions to editing and so much more. For me, the most important was the editing as it was the most time consuming. I spent so much time perfecting the past projects that it became a talent of mine now. I became familiar with the program and its technology that I was able to find shortcuts and really create some nice effects to my projects. Even more so, the storyboarding has also been a great talent of mine. I became really good with drawing up the sketches for my projects so I can visually see what I'm about to begin filming. For this project, I'm most excited for the editing portion so I can see my idea come to light. I plan on using more transitions like dissolves so it can further engage my vision. Both my editing and storyboard will be very detailed and precise as I plan to dedicate more time on this project. Overall, my excitement is truly undeniable as I plan to use my talents for this project.

So what is a pitch? A pitch is a hollywood term to describe an idea where a film is encapsulated in 25 words or less. This is usually with just one sentence. My first pitch idea: a romance film where two people get in a car accident and lose their memory, but fall in love. My second pitch idea: an action film where the presidents daughter is kidnapped and has a $1 million bribe on her to be found alive. And my third pitch idea: a horror film about a wolf/human trying to kill 3 girls who are having a house party.

Editing Music Video Blog

Editing the music video was a very tedious process. After dumping and importing the footage, I had to lay out the scenes in order. I had to go through several shots before choosing the right scenes. Once I did that, I downloaded the soundtrack and converted it to mp3. For one scene, I created a split screen for the knocking scene. I had to cut the upper scene because it lasted longer than the scene below. The song was difficult to align perfectly with the shots. I had to do a lot of cutting throughout the song. Even more so, I had to cut nearly each scene to go along with the song. Some scenes were even slowed down by adjusting the speed.

A major adjustment that needed to be done was the phone clips. Some of the shots were filmed on my phone. Due to this, we had to convert the phone video into and mp4 video. Then, once it was imported into Pinnacle studios, the videos were horizontal and not vertically framed. To try and fix this a bit, I had to edit the horizontal size from the effects editor and fix the cropping. However, the more horizontal the shot became, the more the graphics decreased in quality. Even more so, there was still a black border around the shot. The next major thing was the timing with the song and the actual clip itself. Most of the actions that played out did not align with the song. As a result, I had to slow down many shots by nearly 40%.

More scenes still need to be slowed to match with the song. Due to the complexity of this, the song does have to be cut in certain parts to catch up with the actions. If the scenes are too slowed down then they wouldn’t look good once played back. The last couple slides however don’t need an exact time frame for the song. This is mainly because the chorus follows along with the rest of the dancing regardless. The only thing left to edit is to fix some of the lighting. Due to the filming being shot over the course of different days and different hours of the day, the lighting is not all the same. This is why it was important to edit the lighting so it transitions smoothly. The last thing I made sure to do was to add some dissolving transitions for certain scenes. The end shot will feature the Sunshine title to tie the whole music video together.

Filming Process Blog-Music Video

Over the break, on Tuesday 26th after school, my group and I finished filming at the beach. The filming for that day took a total of an hour to complete for the final scenes. The following day, I reviewed all the footage. I bought an SD card reader to convert the footage from my phone to mp4. This editing and converting process took about two hours to ensure all phone footage was properly converted. Then, the music for the video was converted to mp3. The filming had a lot of individuals around which needed to be cut from the video. I made sure the faces of these people were not too visible in the video as well. While filming, we had to make sure that the water would not harm the video camera. The weather allowed the filming to go smoothly, with no rain interfering with our shooting.

When the group met up, the director, Steven, made sure to get the best lighting. I helped set up the angles and movements with each actor, including me. To make sure we followed the song, we re-shot many scenes to match the lyrics of the song. Some interruptions occurred like people walking by or birds flying in the shots. Even more so, I was concerned with how each shot would overlap with the next scene. For example, I had to review the last park scene of us jumping to match it to the beach scene. The reason for this is so that the clips transitioned smoothly from one scene to the other. This shot was taken a total of three times to make sure it aligned. When it came to editing, I had to cut the part where we landed at the park and cut the part where we jumped at the beach. By doing so, it’s all one fluid movement from park to beach.

As for editing, I had to review the previous shots saved into the video. I dumped more footage from my SD card into my folder on the desktop. Then, I imported the clips into pinnacle studios to begin editing. The newest editing style I used was applying split screen. The editing took a couple tries to make sure the actors were properly in frame and centered. Once that was completed, I had to adjust a few scenes as they were not correctly positioned in the video. I discussed with my group of adding some lyrics on certain scenes to draw away from the black screens on the side. As a result of this however, the scene looked a bit choppy and the graphics were not as clear as they could have been. However, with our schedule, there would have been no way to reshoot the scenes that were filmed on the phone. But overall, a lot of editing was completed, with just a few more shots to be added and edited for the final product.