Filming on the Other End of the Camera

 

Unlike yesterday, I was actually in frame while recording today. I wrote about filming the lines of the interviewer yesterday and today I filmed on the other end of the camera. This time I was playing the interviewee. The worries I had yesterday about the film all falling on my acting have been mostly subdued. I feel as though I've done a good job acting both naturally and unnaturally at the same time. By that I mean, the character on screen isn't too far off of how I would be if I were in that situation. However, he is still a lot more nervous and awkward than I would be. One thing that made its way into my acting from how I act normally is my hand movements. When speaking formally, I tend to move my hands a lot to help explain to subject better. This tendency is more than represented in my acting.

So far, I've recorded all of my lines up until I switch into the Dark Figure costume. It took me a while to figure out what camera angle looked the best and what to do about the lighting reflecting off my glasses. In the end, I did the best I could and settled with a decent angle. Not much I could do about my glasses. It'd be impossible to sneak a look at the script without it looking horribly obvious without them. All I need to do now is record the second half of the interview, edit it all together, and render the final products. Assuming there will be no need for any reshoots, of course. I would've finished recording the full interview before blogging, but my camera died. Anyways, I expect to need to do a bit of problem solving during the editing process. I want to include to clips in the film, but I've only made room for one in the script. I doubt I'll need to rewrite a portion of the script, but I don't have any idea of where to fit in the second clip. I'll figure that out when the time comes.

Filming! I Didn't Know I Still Did That!

 

Before jumping into the actual filming, I had to record some lines. These lines are meant to be that of an interviewer. In the script, I wrote the film to play out as an interview of the producer of "Secluded." To accomplish that effect, I needed to have an interviewer, obviously. To preserve the spirit of "Secluded," I opted to have myself be the interviewer and to have my voice be cut into the film to make it seem as if I was asking myself questions from behind the camera. To make the audio sound as natural as possible, I set up the camera and sat a fair distance behind it. Which is why the picture above is of an empty chair. It's a picture taken while filming, yes, but all I filmed was just a corner of my room. What I'm going to do next is actually act out the interview as the interviewee, i.e. myself.

I'm a little nervous about playing the part myself, seeing as there's so many aspects to it. I need to act as I would, but at the same time play up some of my more negative attributes. I need to seem even more obsessive with the project than I really am and I need to seem a lot more embarrassed by some of the mishaps that have occurred. Not only does my acting play a role, but I also need to worry about the audio as well. I'll need to get deep into production to see whether I should go for clear audio when recording as the interviewer, or if I should record in the same environment to help it blend in more. In comparison to other microphones I've used, the microphone on my camera is a lot more sensitive than any other. It can pick up background noise from other places in the house and really likes to amplify the noises of my air conditioning, even when I don't hear it. I expect my voice to come through clearly. When I was re-enacting events for the mockumentary, my voice was clearer beyond my expectations. The problem lies with the background noise. In any case, I'll figure it out once I dive deeper into filming.

Editing, Finally

 

While rewriting my short film, I planned for there to be cutaways throughout. Clips of some mishaps that occurred while filming were specifically what I wanted to include. While I was done writing for the day, I actually recorded some recreations of those mishaps. Today, I took the time to edit them. Most of them didn't require much work. All I needed to do was add captions. The one clip I did need to edit a bit was the clip where I break a lightbulb on accident. I didn't have any footage of me actually breaking the lightbulb, so this was one of the clips I had to reenact. To make things clear, I didn't actually break a lightbulb or burn myself while recording the clip. When it actually happened, I didn't burn myself then either. As for breaking the bulb, I was completely fine afterward. My hand was protected and my parents were nearby.

Alongside these clips, I want to include the first scene that I recorded and edited. I plan on working it into the film as an intro of sorts. I'll have a portion, if not all, of it play, then cut to my character speaking about it. "Then I had to cut a lot of out of focus clips, leading to that scene being unusable." This line, which will also talk about what happened during production, will introduce my character. I don't expect everything to be related to real life experiences, but I'll feel better about the product if I can bring in those experiences naturally. I want to make it seem like the production of this film was filled with mishaps and slapstick chaos, while not being over-the-top and unbelievable. It'll take some workshopping, but I can do it.

The Writing Blog?

 

Yes, the writing blog. Instead of blogging about filming scenes, I'm here to talk about rewriting my short film. Throughout the short filming process of my original story, I've gone through trials and tribulations time and time again. While I could work through it and make the original story, I imagine doing that would lead to a final product that I'm not happy with. So to avoid this, I've decided to rewrite the story I want to tell and take a more meta approach to it. Instead of filming a story about a shut-in being haunted by his past, I'm going to film a story about the filming of the story about a shut-in being haunted by his past. I want to make a mockumentary about the production of this short film. I feel as if this will lead to a better product due to most of the blunders and mistakes I'll be talking about in the mockumentary have actually happened during the filming of my original story.

I'm not going to just throw out everything I've done in preparation of filming my horror story. Instead, I'm going to use my promotional website and social medias as pieces of lore in the film. They'll play a part in the characters' journey through filming. I haven't figured everything out yet, which is why I took today to start writing and figuring out how to make this idea work. With what I've written out so far, I expect the film to be one long interview about the upcoming movie. I'm going to exaggerate my clumsiness in the dialogue of the characters and have them reflect some of my own feelings throughout this project. Just like my original idea, this new film is going to rely on my acting. Since there's no special effects or action packed scenes, I'm going to have to carry the film with my performance. Hopefully writing that down will ensure I do a good job.

The (Almost) Filming Blog!

 

With the small break I took yesterday, I plan to jump back into filming soon. I've been unable to film due to some issues on my part. With any luck, I'll be able to start filming once more tomorrow. To make up for my long absence, I'm going to need to film as much as possible for the next few days. My situation may not be that dire, but it's what I plan on doing. I'm not too worried about the filming itself. Instead, I expect the editing to take the most time. Out of everything, masking is definitely going to be what causes editing to take the longest. While masking, I need to go through each frame and make sure that the path looks good and doesn't move unnecessarily. It's what caused the first scene to be a hassle to edit and it'll repeat throughout production.

What I hope to happen while editing is that I'll get better at masking. Not only so that the final product looks better, but also so it takes less time to do. My favorite part of doing these projects is always getting better at something. Last year, I improved at filmmaking in general. I learned just how much filmmaking relies on the editing. Before, I treated editing as just cutting clips and putting them together. After making just my commercial, I learned that editing also included fading in and out, correcting mistakes, and changing how the scene looks. This year, I've learned the importance of lighting in a scene and I'm off to learn how to mask better. Despite the quality of my final product, I'll be able to look back and be proud of my growth. I still want to make a good final product though.

Finding Sound Effects

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILtw7SKMjCQ

I didn't plan on finding the sound effects for the film today, but I decided to get it out of the way. The search for these was a lot easier than the search for music. While I knew what I wanted for both the music and effects, there were a lot more sound effects to choose from. Shown in the picture above, the video I'm going with contains 5 different impact sound effects. I'm sure I'll appreciate the extra choices when I'm editing. I'll appreciate it even more considering that I'll need to change the sound a bit before use. For example, I'll need to change the volume and maybe the pitch of the sound. I expect to use this sound effect whenever the Dark Figure disappears off-screen. When I do use this effect, I don't want it to be extremely noticeable. I'll aim to make it subtle, that way it won't ruin the experience in any way.

I plan on making another post for Christmas tomorrow. I'll have to come up with what to post. I plan on making another picture, but I might also be able to make a video. I'll have to put a lot more thought into it. I've already done a picture with the Dark Figure in a Christmas Hat, so if I use him again it'll have to be different. I don't want to recycle the same idea and have him in a hat again. Instead, I might use a Christmas present to make it different. Of the few ideas I have, I'm considering making a Christmas card. It would be a fun side project to work on while I have the time. I'll figure it out soon.

Finding the Background Music

 

In preparation for the grueling filming and editing process I'm bound to have, I decided to look for some creepy background noise to put in the movie. I knew I wouldn't need hours of ambience, so I found this one video to be sufficient. Even better, the creator doesn't require permission for me to use it, not even credit. Of course I still plan to give credit, but it is nice to not need to worry about any extra processes for gaining permission. Here's the link to the video: https://youtu.be/1nD3Sp_saz4

I don't plan on using this music all throughout the film. While writing the story, I didn't picture there being any music other than some the main character potentially will be listening to. I wanted to focus on the content of the scene and using it to create a sense of unease. I've decided to include music because I realize how much of a bad idea not including it would be. Not only can music intensify a scene's mood exponentially, but it can also prevent the movie from feeling "empty." A movie feeling "empty" means that there's a lack of sound and, as a result, it is too quiet at times. This can be done well if those making the film want to use this effect in their film. I, however, didn't write this effect into my film so including it will only ruin it.

Before editing any of the scenes, I'm going to predict that I'll use the music more heavily in the scenes where the main character has left his room. I imagine the shot of the main character surveying the house he's shut himself out of will work well with the ambience of the music. If I use the music in any of the scenes inside of the room, it will most likely be quiet and fairly unnoticeable. Barring the scenes before the main character leaves the room, I don't think the scenes inside the room will need the music. Instead, I'll focus on sound effects for whenever the Dark Figure is on screen and/or when he affects the main character. After I get deeper into the making of the film, I look into what sound effects fit into it better. I'm gonna need to find out where to find those sound effects as well.

Social Media Managing

 

Today I made and posted a Christmas photo on my social medias. I didn't plan on posting content that was directly related to filming, but a few setbacks have stopped me from being able to film and caused me to do this. Above is the photo that I made earlier today. The quality isn't the best due to the photo being taken on my phone, but I find that to be acceptable. I think the quality is fine because of the inclusion of the Dark Figure. It implies that his presence distorts the footage, which I think is a cool piece of lore to have. I don't plan on incorporating this into the film, which is why I'm not filming with my phone, but it is fine if it's for a picture.

The easiest part of making this picture was editing it together. Since I wasn't able to use a proper camera, I couldn't use my phone to remotely take pictures. This meant I had to record myself getting into position as both myself and the Dark Figure. Hopefully it isn't a surprise that both people in this image is me. I've been getting good at blending together images to clone myself. I've practiced before working on the film and I feel as if I've hit my stride. Now I need to get better at masking shots together. While I don't necessarily look forward to masking together my next scene, I am excited for the practice I'll get while doing it. I expect to make a few more images like this, despite whatever setback I'm facing. Whenever I edit a photo for this effect, I feel proud of myself for getting better and better at it. The first picture I made wasn't the best, but I was able to improve as I made more. I learned to keep the camera angle and lighting as close as possible to the first shot, which makes the editing 1000 times easier. I plan on filming as soon as I get the chance, the problem is when that chance will be.

Editing the First Scene (Masking, Masking, and More Masking)

 

After a few days of slacking off, I decided to get to work on editing the first scene. I didn't expect it to be too much work and was looking forward to finding out how I was going to achieve the cloning effect the short film will rely on. Before I got to the few seconds that the dark figure was on screen, I found out that I may need to reshoot some parts of the first scene. The reasons why varied for each shot. The shot of me walking back to my desk with the plate of food was out of focus. The shot of me walking into the camera/toward my door was unusable due to the laptop I was pretending to be working on going into sleep mode. Despite a few of my shots being unusable, I was able to piece together enough footage to make up the first scene up until the parts with the dark figure. When thinking of ways to create my cloning effect, I decided to mask out my character and to add him into the shot. The problem with this was that I ended up having to go frame by frame adjusting the masking path so that my character was cut smoothly. This has been a grueling editing process.

The period of time that the dark figure appears is only 2 seconds. This doesn't sound too bad, but it gets worse when you factor in how many frames are in those 2 seconds. In those 2 seconds alone, there are more than 50 frames. This means that I have to make or manage the masking paths of 50+ frames. I appreciate the time to myself, but this was more than enough. While going through each frame, a few problems presented themselves. One of them being the shadow I casted on the wall. The way I was masking out my character, excluded anything else in the scene but him. This included the wall next to me and the shadow I casted on it. The other problem was my door. On my door, there were 2 jackets on a towel hanging there. One of those jackets is a part of the dark figure's costume, meaning that it isn't hanging on the door during the 2 seconds he's in frame. This means that my character's moving in front of the door will make the mask look awkward. A solution that I have for both of these problems is to finish masking out the main character, then to mask out the wall and door as well. Hopefully it works, I'm tired of masking things out.

Filming the First Scene

 

Today I recorded the first scene of the short film. The scene itself will most likely last less than a minute, but the filming took a lot longer than just a minute. Before I started filming, I had to prepare a plate of food to use. I had a choice of just putting together a sandwich or waiting until Thanksgiving to have a full plate of food. As you could tell by the date this is going up on, I didn't decide to wait. When I had the sandwich prepared, I had all I needed to start recording.

My story gave me no scenes to film before the first scene with the dark figure. The first scene of the film will be the dark figure's first scene. This meant, I had to shoot additional takes as the dark figure. He didn't do much this scene. All he does is bang on a table before disappearing. Despite being in the costume for about 30-45 seconds, my glasses had enough time to fog up inside the hoodie (which I was wearing backwards). In hindsight, I should've taken off my glasses before recording, but whatever. Alea iacta est. 

Other than the plate of food and recording as the dark figure, I had to constantly had to transfer a light bulb from one lamp to another. This is because one lamp had a white light bulb while another had a bulb with a yellow tint. I didn't want to have a yellow tint to my lighting, so I resolved to swapping the bulb back and forth depending on where I needed the lighting. In the end, filming went fairly smooth. I'm expecting editing it to go well too. I'd move onto filming the next scene, but it needs to be dark out for to do so.

Making My Own Website...

 

Link to the website:

https://secludedshortfilm.wixsite.com/mysite

To better spread my short film, I was tasked to create a website as well as a few social medias. The easiest part was making the social medias. All I needed to do was create a new email and the rest was smooth sailing. I'm not new to making social medias, that can't be said when it comes to making a new website. I've never made a website before. I've had the idea of making a website and had knowledge about the tools online for doing so, but never decided to go through with it. Setting up a YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook took around a half hour to complete. Setting up the website probably took around twice that time and maybe some more. Eventually, I got the site up and running, even with the few setbacks.

I'm 100% sure that making a website without the use of Wix would be much more difficult than with it. That doesn't make it a perfect experience though. Either at fault of my computer or the sign itself, the site would move slowly while using it. Clicking and dragging elements would make the process difficult. The menus felt a little bit clunky. Again, this was due to the website moving slowly. Whenever I wanted to change which tab I was working on, the drop down menu would take a few clicks to drop. Despite the slowness of the site, I enjoyed seeing the different things I could do with the website and links. I thought it was cool seeing that I was able to add links to buttons, images, and whatever else I wanted. There isn't much, but I was able to add a little bit of character into the buttons. All in all, an okay experience.

Storyboard for Short Film

 

Here is the storyboard for my short film. When drawing all of the scenes, I needed to change a few details. This was either due to me losing confidence in my ability or for clarity. I didn't have to make any major changes to the story, thankfully. While writing, I made sure to keep in mind the limitations that would come about from filming at home. I wasn't perfect in making sure filming every scene would be possible, but I did fairly well. Going through the script once more made me excited to start filming again. I'm a bit nervous and curious as to how pulling off the cloning effect is going to go. I know about what to do when editing the effect. However, there may be a problem with the lighting. The effect requires for the two takes to have similar, if not identical, lighting to be pulled off well. If I'm unable to access lighting gear, I plan on using laptop screens to light up my shots. This year, I should have better equipment than last year. Earlier this year, I was worried about not being able to get a camera from school. Thankfully, I've been given the opportunity to use a camera to film from someone else. Although it would be useful to have two cameras for recording, I don't plan on borrowing a camera from school. For obvious reasons. Other than a better camera, I've also gotten better at editing. Due to both practice and a new computer to edit on, I've gotten a little more competent in editing. My getting better at editing is part of the reason why I chose to do a script with a heavy emphasis on it.

Planning for Short Film

 

Before I'm able to start filming, I need to layout plans for more than just the story. So, before I start, I'll plan my schedule, where I'll be filming, who's going to be helping with production, what safety precautions I'll be taking, what props I'll be using, and what costumes I'll be wearing.

In comparison to my project last year, I have a lot more filming to do with this short film. Mostly due to the increased length of the project, but also because my plans will require me to record some scenes twice. Not only will I need more time to film, but I'll also have set times to film as well. Some of the scenes require me to be awake early in the morning or late at night. So, to make sure filming doesn't interfere with school in anyway, I plan on recording during the weekend. Of course, this isn't going to prohibit me from filming during weekdays; if there are scenes that I need to record and I have time to record, then there's no reason for me not to record.

As for my filming location, I will be filming around my house. Mostly, I will be filming in my room but there are scenes that require me to film in my kitchen or outside of my room. Although it isn't the most exciting place to record, it makes planning safety precautions easier. Because I'm filming at home, I can be confident that at least one of parents will be nearby. As a backup, my niece will also be here as well.

Last year, I filmed all of my projects with me being the only cast member. Along with the amount of group members I have, this will not change this year. The plans I have for filming will have me take on two roles and use editing to have those characters appear on screen at the same time. If it turns out that I've overestimated my editing skills, then I'll be able to pass off one of the roles to a family member.

I've explained how my filming at home will help cover the filming precautions, but there is something else that I plan on doing. Before I start filming, I plan letting everyone in the house that I will be filming. This will not only prevent anyone from walking in and ruining a take, but also to make sure that they are aware that something may go awry.

Finally, I the only props that I have written into the script are two plates. One plate will be filled with food and the other will be empty. There are two instances where the full plate will be used and one instance where the empty plate will be used. As for costumes, the main character will be dressed in casual wear up until the end, where they will be dressed for school. For casual wear, I have a wide selection of outfits to choose. For the school outfit, I'll have a backpack and an outfit that is more appropriate for school. The last costume I'll need is an all black outfit for the figure character. I already have the school costume and the all black outfits chosen.

Short Film vs Feature Film

 

After watching both the feature length film and the short film versions of 9, I've been able to notice some big differences between the two. The obvious ones being that the story is more drawn out and explained and the feature film has voice acting. These are obvious changes that would come with having more resources working on the film. Although they are seemingly surface level changes, they can lead to other changes. For example, the characters are easier to get attached to with the voice acting. I expressed during my look into the short film that I wasn't very invested in the chase scenes due to not being invested in the characters. While the characters' voices aren't the sole reasons for this, it plays a role. Speaking of characters, there are a lot more in the feature film than in the short. In the short, we only see 9; 5,presumably; and the robot dog for most of its runtime. This made it all more confusing when we saw more characters exit from the device that 9 opens at the end. In the feature film, we see a lot more characters. We see 9, 5, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, the twins, the dog, and an even bigger villain. Other than having more characters to develop and get the audience attached to, the increase in character roster also allowed the film to explain why those characters were inside the device from the short. 

The short doesn't do many things better than the film. The only thing I could think of is that the short didn't overuse the trope where a character is almost killed before the enemy is distracted by something else. This, however, is mostly due to the short having a shorter runtime and, in turn, less opportunities to do so. It's not surprising to say that the feature film did a lot of things better than the short. It's almost unfair to compare the two, actually. However, it is nice to see how far the story has come in the 4 years between the short and the film's releases. In the end, both were done really well in their own ways and can both be commended by its animation work. 

Research 9, the Feature Film

 

The short film 9 is an animated story about a goggled creature with the number 9 on its back that was turned into a full length film 4 years after the original short film's release. The full length film holds the same setting as the short film, a post apocalyptic Earth, but goes a lot more into depth with its story. When watching the short film, I wasn't sure as to what was going on. That was because nothing was properly explained in the short before it moved on to the next conflict. The film does a better job at this, most likely due to having a longer run time. The story that the film expands on is not only more fleshed out, but it is also intriguing. The story and characters were all written well and went well with the amazing animation work. The only time that I remembered that the film wasn't stop motion was during scenes where humans would appear. The sound design was also really well done. There were sound clues that would hint toward what would happen next or would come from something that happened in the background, even if the viewer wasn't meant to pay attention to it. 

Despite the positives of the writing and presentation of the film, there were still some problems with both. For example, the action scenes got stale after a certain point in the movie. This was because the film has a tendency of saving characters from danger by having a distraction take place. There are multiple instances where this would happen and it got to a point where I expected it to happen more times than not. Although it wasn't much of a problem, it took me a while to see the characters act in ways that were human. Don't get me wrong, I'm not gatekeeping being a human, it was just weird seeing 9 clutch his injured arm as if it were bleeding. It's a little bit weirder to think that later on in the story, one of the characters fails to realize that their hand is broken before they see it. Plus, how come some of the characters are noticeably older than others? I'd assume inorganic creatures such as these wouldn't age in similar ways to humans, but I could be wrong. 

All in all, the film was an enjoyable experience and definitely holds up 19 years after its release. I've praised the animation of both the short and the feature film and that isn't just to fill in the minimum sentence count, the films genuinely look amazing. 

Research 9, the short

 The short film 9 is an animated story about a goggled creature with the number 9 on its back. Its story is told quickly, as the short only lasts 7 minutes. Thanks to its run time, we are presented with the beginning, middle, and end without much time in between to grasp the story or what's going on. For me, the suspense falls flat as I haven't had enough time to get invested in the characters enough for me to worry for them. Right at the beginning of the short, we meet and witness the end of a creature of 9's species. They could possibly be 9's mentor, or possibly just a friend, we don't learn enough before they are killed off by a monster robot dog of equal mystery. Before their death, they hand 9 a lightbulb, a battery, a wire, and an object that the audience doesn't know what it is or does. After witnessing the death of their friend, 9 runs away from the robot that killed his friend. This is where the tension that the audience is supposed to be feeling falls flat due to the characters being improperly introduced. We have a clear antagonists, sure, but we also have no idea why this thing is hunting down 9 and its species. 

The chase scene was done well. The animation is fluid, which it has been all throughout the short. I appreciated the use of the characters' size and how it was integrated into the chase scene. I was disappointed by the appearance of the cliché of cornering the protagonist on a ledge. The ending only left more questions to be asked. Doing so opened this short film to the opportunity of becoming a full film. The universe has already been set up, all that's left to do is to expand upon it and to explain it to the audience. Learning that this short film was made a relatively small crew is impressive. The film is very well done, to the point where one would guess that it took a lot of money and crew to animate. For what it is, the short is good and it's animation alone is notable. 

What genre is MY film going to be?

 From the three genres I had to pick from, I thought that my film would be able to fit into any of them. After looking into them some more, I've realized that some of them may not be the best fit for the plot of my film after all. I've been able to eliminate surrealist fiction from the possible genres list. This is because, all though any film can have their own style, I don't think anything I could do would fit into this genre well. Left with just psychological horror and horror drama as my remaining genres, I've also decided not to do a horror drama either. The idea for a film doesn't fit very well with the films I looked into. Now I've been left with just the psychological horror genre, which I feel fairly confident is a good fit for my film. I think this gives me a good opportunity to add more confusion into the film. For example, having things happen that may just be hallucinations or something of that nature. I feel as if I'll be able to take a lot of inspiration from this genre. 

Some ideas I have for this movie are going to need other people to help, unless I'm able to make Rube Goldberg machines for every practical effect I want to add. Ever since I've thought of this film, I've always wanted to have a shot of the door to the room opening on its own and having my character look back at it. I believe that this could be a good way to foreshadow how the film is going to end. By having my character hesitate to investigate the door, it'll be a contrast to the end of the movie where he'll leave his room hurriedly. Other than that, I will need to come up with other events that can take place. I want to emphasize that the main character's time alone has started to drive him crazy. To accomplish this, I'll also need to show that he's been on his own for a while. A few ideas I've come up with would be to involve my family in this and use them to show what living with this character entails. That'll come later though, for now I've got my genre decided. I will keep thinking of ideas until the time to storyboard arrives though.

Genre Research: Reading a Lot of Stuff About Horror

 The idea that I plan on going with can be classified as three different genres: a psychological horror, a horror drama, or a surrealist fiction. Just like last year, I've been tasked with research genres to see what is common within them. Similarly to last year, I'll conduct my research by looking into different movies to see what they all share. Unlike last year, however, I won't be describing each movie I looked into. This time, I'll just point out the common tropes.

The first genre I looked into was psychological thriller. Psychological thrillers normally aims to scare the audience with atmosphere instead of jumpscares or creepy villains. Directors John Madden and Peter Hutchins agree that psychological horrors are at their best when they focus on tension and anxiety instead of fright. To me, this meant dim lighting and subtle movements in the background. However, when I looked into different psychological horror films, I was surprised to see that the colors were mostly normal. While some movies, Joker(2019) to be specific, had a decreased saturation, the coloration in general still looked normal. The anxiety and uneasiness that I expected from this genre came from the actors and the scenes that they were put into.

The second genre I looked into was horror drama. A horror drama, or horror film, is a film that seeks to instill fear into its audience. From what I saw during my research, this genre achieves this by having disturbing scenes and imagery. The antagonists of these films were monsters in more ways than one. In some films, the antagonist is human and torments the protagonist as well as the others around them. In other films, the antagonist is actually a monster and when they are, they are usually grotesque or hard to look at. I've noticed the camera work is different in these films. The camera looks up at the antagonist, possibly to make it seem like they are bigger and a threat.

The third genre I looked into was surrealist fiction. From what I've seen, I don't think surrealist films aim to do anything in general. A surrealist film can aim to tell a story or, if it wants, it could just be weird for the sake of it. This genre seems to be the most freeform of the three I've looked into. The whole time I was watching clips and snippets of films, I never fully understood what was going on.

What's The Film About?

The film focuses on a shut-in's phobia of leaving his room. Even when called for, he'll avoid leaving his room at all costs.

Group Members: +0

 As a surprise to no one, I will continue working on my own this year. Just like last year, I plan on completing all of my assignments on my own. Not only because of the current situation of the world, but  also because I enjoy being alone. Until further notice, that will never come, my group will consist of me alone. Last year, I took every chance I could to talk about how working on my own made some things easier. Working around any problems that came up, implementing ideas, and trying out new ways of filming were all made easier to do without having to consult a group first. Of course, not all the ideas I had were effective, but it was still fun to try them out. I can acknowledge that having group members makes filming a lot easier. Of course, I'm no where near filming yet. So I should focus on planning first. 

I remember throwing around tons of ideas on what I should do last year. I thought about doing a horror film, a mystery film, and a handful of different genres that didn't receive as much thought. I was able to fully map out scenes in my head and decide on whether I could actually do them. Doing something similar would take much longer with a group. When I heard what I was doing this year, the same thing happened. I had a ton of ideas going through my head one after another and threw out a good few. I'm still not completely sure on what to do, but I still have multiple ideas. To wrap things up, I'm working alone again. Not only am I working alone again, but I don't have a group to work with. Finally, I am completing this project on my own. 

Same Blog, Different Task

 My last blog on here was on May 7, 2020. Since then, I've graduated 10th grade and am now a Junior. Just like last year, I'm taking a media studies class and are required to keep up a blog. So, if anyone's missed my blogs, you're in luck. Instead of just doing an intro to a movie, I'll be creating a short film this year. I'll have a lot more time to fill and I'm completely fine with that. In addition to more runtime, I'm also tasked with creating a website and different social medias as well.

Just like last year, I've got a ton of ideas swirling around my head and I'm excited to find out what I can and can not do when filming. I can't say I'm excited about having to keep up a blog once more, mainly due to how many I had to do last year. Realistically, it shouldn't be that much of a problem, seeing as I was easily able to keep up with the amount of blogs I had to do. However, I can say I'm very excited about having more time to work with this time around. I've said it in this blog already and it's because of my experience last year. Last year, I overestimated the amount of content I would be able to fit within the time allotted. Because of this, I had to cut out a fair amount of footage to fit it all. I have to make sure that I don't go overboard this year and film more than necessary. I'm a lot more experienced now than I was when I first started last year, so I'm confident that I'll be able to make something worthwhile. Also, I'll be better at blogging.

Audience & Institution Essay

When it comes to films and their distribution, digital distribution is extremely important and can be a big source of income. Not only can digital distribution bring in more money, it can also spread the film to more people. Some people may not want to go to a theatre to see the movie, or may have trouble getting the chance to see it, digital outputs are a way to counter that situation. There is an audience of people that prefer to watch films at home, so without way to access a film online, a film’s revenue and spread would both be a lot worse of. Film companies would be missing out on this audience and would be hurting themselves by doing so.

People normally look at the box office sales of a movie to determine its success. However, domestic sales can reveal numbers that aren’t anything to scoff. Avengers: Endgame(2019) recorded a total of 84 million dollars in domestic video sales. Another big title, Spider-man: Homecoming(2017), recorded 67 million dollars in the same category. It’s not uncommon for films to gross millions of dollars in DVD sales, the list expands with every new mainstream film is released. Baby Driver(2017), Taken(2007), Furious 7(2015), Napoleon Dynamite(2004), and so on. DVD sales alone are able to make back a sizeable portion of the film’s production budget. Especially with films like Napoleon Dynamite, which has a remarkably low budget. Napoleon Dynamite was made with only a budget of 400,000 dollars, which is miniscule compared to more recent box office hits. Its DVD sales, grossing 139 million dollars, can budget the film 347 times. Take some time to take it in that Napoleon Dynamite could be filmed hundreds of times without spending the income from one release. The numbers presented only push my point even further. With every blockbuster release, the list of films that gross millions in DVD sales grow. Admittedly, the numbers aren’t as awe-inspiring as the box office records, but it is hard to deny that filmmakers would be missing out on a huge source of income without them.

Even if the income from the DVD sales are enough to pay for the budget of a film, which is rare, it's undeniable that distributing films digitally is an amazing way to bolster the pockets of filmmakers. It's even more beneficial if one can pull off filming an American classic on a small budget. Of course, not everyone can direct Napoleon Dynamite, so income made from any form of digital distribution will only help make back the expenses of filming. No matter the purpose, digital distribution is without a doubt very important.

Final Products

Film

CCR

Editing, Again

      After filming the tilt and pan, I had to put them into the film. As mentioned before, the film was already the maximum length. This meant that I had to cut out some footage that was already in. As I filmed the tilt and pan to go into the beginning of the film, I had to put it in there as well. To do this, I removed some of the build up and entered the movements. Cutting out the build up also included removing the titles that were already rendered in. To remedy this issue, I did my best to match up the titles and transfer them. While doing this, I ran into an issue with the audio. This made me thankful for being on my own editing software. I was comfortable with it enough to know how to separate the audio and video. Doing this allowed me to change the footage while keeping the audio the same. This shouldn't create any issues as the audio was really only the music ramping up. When I was done with the titles, I watched both of them appear to make sure it was good. I used a feature on the program where you can "mute" layers of the timeline. This would temporarily remove the layer, making it not appear on the timeline or make no noise. Swapping between the two with this feature showed me how close I was getting with the imitation. I did well enough, however some of the titles didn't match up. This is okay, as the new placement isn't too much of a change. In the end, I was able to include the remaining movements. I'm happy with how it looks and can put it to rest now.

         How it looks now... maybe

The Blog Where I Talk About Filming Again

      After the peer reviews, I learned that I needed a few more features in the film. I needed to add a pan, tilt, an eye-line match, and an establishing shot. While filming, I decided to film a pan and a tilt. The rest I would add in post. I filmed a pan and tilt for the beginning of the film. I wanted to make it seem like the camera was booting up and turning into position. I wasn't able to capture a tilt with tripod, as I wasn't able to aim the camera downward. This resulted in the need to hold the camera and try my best to hold it steady. Because of this, the opening shot is a lot less stable compared to the others. There wasn't a lot more filming after this. I took multiple takes of this shot to make sure, which wasn't really needed. As always, I thought of what to do with the footage I was getting. I thought that I'd be able to squeeze in this footage. The takes I took were 4 seconds at most, so I didn't think I'd have problems pushing it in. I failed to consider that the film was already filled to 2 minutes. This meant I'd have to replace some part of the film for this shot. I decided not to film anything else, as I had considered the length in some capacity. I couldn't fit in an establishing shot and I already knew that. So for now, the establishing shot is the only thing I need. It is possible that I could find a way to add one in the future.

Editing the Final(ish) Product

      For the peer reviews, I wanted to have a rough draft ready. So, the weekend before I doubled down and worked to complete it all. I planned on filming all of Saturday then editing on Sunday. However, I ended up filming and editing on Saturday. After filming, I got down to editing the scenes for the hooded man. I cut the high angle and over the shoulder shots together, as mentioned before. Not only did I cut the scenes together, I also muted the audio for the over the shoulder shot. This made sure that the audio wasn't messed up in any way when cutting. It also relieved me of having to time the cuts so that the lines are delivered naturally. I didn't need to worry about the mouth movements matching up as the hooded man wore a mask and. Also the camera was behind him, so that nullified any need to match mouth movements. Editing the hooded man's scenes turned into putting all of the clips together, which turned into adding all the titles, and that finished the movie. I can't say I'm unhappy with getting it all done early, I don't know who would, but it was definitely a welcome surprise. When assembling the movie, I found that I had too much footage. I could've easily made a 5-10 minute long film, but needed to cut it down a lot. I removed some of the hooded man watching the scenes, the darkness from the second scene, and all of the scenes after the fifth one. This put a large dent in the run time of the film and put me at exactly two minutes. I wish I could've added everything in, but I'm okay with having all that's in now. I wish I knew that the film would've been too long while filming, as this would've saved a lot of time and effort. In the end, I got everything done before the weekend was over and was able to present my film.

Filming the Final Scenes

      Before we peer reviewed, I filmed the rest of the film. I needed all of the scenes including the hooded man. I was able to get the high angles and the over the shoulder shots easily. However, I had to come up with a way to obscure my face. The solution to this was to take a black shirt and tie it around my face like a mask. This, paired with my hood, was a good enough disguise for the hooded man. All of the scenes with the hooded man flowed together during filming. Most of his screen time is watching the first scenes on a laptop. Thanks to this, I was able to film all of his scenes in an hour or two. This includes multiple backup takes. When recording the scene where the hooded man is watching K, I had to decide if I wanted to play the audio from the laptop. In the end, I decided to play the audio from the laptop. Although the music from K's earbuds would not make sense, it helped with timing my lines. I waited for the music to fade out to deliver my lines on both the over the shoulder and the high angle. When filming, I think about the editing process and what I'll do during it. This time, I thought about cutting into the over the shoulder shot before saying my next line. To make this easier, I used the timing and paused before delivering the next line. I took multiple takes as I always found something wrong with the acting. Finally, I got three that I thought went well and got to editing. The editing process took about as much time, but that's for the next blog.

Peer Review Day

      Today we were assigned groups to peer review. We watched their films and wrote feedback guided by the paper pictured above. My group had made a film about a girl being kidnapped and her struggle to escape. The film was able to tell its story without being explicit. The situation the main character was in was obvious and didn't need words to show it. The opening shot of her tied up at the beginning was a very apparent sign of what's going on. The following scenes of her trying different things and struggling with the doors also sold the story. While watching the film, there was a very clear overabundance of cuts and transitions. Every action the character made would cut to a few seconds after, this made the film confusing at times. I suggested that there should be less cuts in the film and could see it improving if this change was made.

      Looking back at my film after watching theirs, I realized that I need to find a way to add a pan and tilt. Also, to avoid adding in unnecessary cuts and transitions. I've seen the feedback that my film has gotten and most of the group members suggested that I add a pan and tilt. The last group member suggested that I added more lighting to the second scene. The second scene has the main character getting ready for bed. I thought the lack of lighting was justified here, since it's supposed to be late. However, I plan on finding a way to add dim lighting to the scene. I also plan on adding a pan and tilt. I believe I've found a way to add one on my own. If that way fails, I'll just ask someone for help.

Filming More Scenes

      Over the past 2 days, I filmed scenes 2, 7, and 8. These scenes include K going to bed, finding a camera, and inspecting the camera. This leaves scenes 3-6 to film. These mostly consist of scenes including the Hooded Man. I've been intentionally saving his scenes for last, as they could present a problem if rushed. I can't film in my room normally for his scenes, so I need to find out if there's a time I can close off another room to do so. If I can't film elsewhere, I have a few ideas on how to transform my room enough to make it look like a different room. My main idea is to darken the room so that it can't be identified. The Hooded Man would be lit by the laptop he's using. However, this would present a problem for when he stands up. Another option would be to film somewhere in the room that hasn't been seen. The problem with this is that my room isn't that big and most of it has been shown. If I need to film in my room, there would be little I could do to change it. This is why I'm saving those scenes. Another problem comes up in the way I filmed the 7th scene. The 7th scene was planned to come in after an action match with the hooded man. However, I filmed the 7th scene as its own thing. This can be remedied by adding in the action match. The camera can change once K gets up from his chair. So far, filming has gone smoothly, there's just possibility of future issues.

Editing the First Scene

      After filming the first scene, I decided to edit it. There wasn't much to edit, as it was a short scene. I've also decided to not add the titles yet. I'm going to do this at the end of editing. Once I have all of the scenes filmed, I am going to go back and add the titles. I feel that this will make adding the titles flow better. What I did during editing was cut out the beginning and end of the footage. This is because they included me walking out of the room and turning off the camera. Neither of these actions would fit into the film, for obvious reasons. Also, I added in the song that I chose. Adding the song was more work than it sounds like, but still simple. All I had to do was match up the lyrics with what K was saying and cut out the unneeded parts. I also made the song fade in and out at the appropriate times. It fades away faster, as K takes out the earbuds. This partially simulates how the sound would get quieter as he puts them away. Lastly, I added in a static effect at the end of the scene. After the last edits were made, I rendered the scene and saved it for final assembly. Throughout the filming and editing process, I had done everything needed. While editing, I got the clips together, got the song ready, put together the footage, and rendered the first scene. Unsurprisingly, this trend will continue throughout the making of this film.

The Actually Filming Blog

      As you could tell from the title, I did film this time. I filmed on February 20, 2020 and got through my first scene. The scene where K comes home while singing along to a song. Before, I said that I need a song for the film. I was able to choose one, without copyright, before filming. The song I chose is called Pull Up and it was made by an artist named Bazanji. The start of the song has a few seconds of build up before the chorus starts. This allowed me to time when to come in and give myself some time to let the shot rest before I started. For the entirety of the first scene, the camera is tucked away under my desk. This was a small hurdle to get through. While I could easily fit the camera and tripod under my desk, I had to angle it in a way to make it look hidden. I remedied this by angling the camera upward a bit so that the underside of the desk was visible. Not only did I want the desk to be visible, I wanted the top of the door to be visible as well. This ensured that I would fit into the shot. Although I wasn't able to get the top of the door into the shot, I was able to make the camera look hidden. Lastly, I had to worry about being heard over the song. At first I played the song out loud, but scrapped this as I needed it to fade out quickly.

The Not Filming Blog

      The weekend of 2/15/2020 I was not able to film. Why, you ask? Because I didn't complete the blogs in time. Well, I did finish them before the deadline, just not in time to get a camera and film over the weekend. Now all I can do is plan for when I am able to film, which I have been doing. I have been planning where to put the camera to sell the facade of it being a spy camera. I've had ideas of placing it on my dresser, where it can have a wall covering some of the vision. This'll make it appear to be hidden, more hidden than it being out in the open at least. Other than places for the camera, I also have to think of my costumes. Not only do I want to sell the illusion of the camera being hidden, but I also want the audience to think multiple days have gone by. Different outfits could sell the illusion, as well as filming at different times of the day. Something else I've had in mind, was to add the date on-screen. This way, I could match the outfit to the day. For example, I could wear formal clothes on Sunday. Of course, there's the added benefit of forcing the audience to thing it's a different day. Lastly, I've been coming up with backup plans. In case I need to prolong the film, I've been thinking of ways to do so. What I've come up with, is to add shots of K finding secret cameras. Along with the scenes of him finding it under his bed, in his closet, and somewhere high up, I've thought of other places it could be. So far there's under his desk, behind blinds, and behind his computer monitor.

Planning: Storyboard

Above is a presentation of all the storyboards I've made for the film. I've had to add a few more scenes to fit the 10 storyboard requirement. Nothing else has been altered too much. All the scenes are the same and everything is in order. The scenes I've added are scenes of K, the main character, finding hidden cameras in his room.  These extra scenes can be added or taken out, if needed. I can come up with more places to put the camera, or take out some of the locations. I like these extra scenes, I feel they can add some more fun to recording. I could also go as far as to have family members hide the cameras as well. This could also make K finding them more authentic.

Planning: Title Design

Above is a presentation outlining how I will be designing the titles that will show up in the film. I have a font in mind, although it may not work with the film. As said before, the things I'm planning are subject to change. I do intend on making the titles white. As white would go against the colors of my walls. However, I can add a border, if there's a need. The spacing is it's own issue, the font does place the letters close together, which may be a problem. I can counteract this by leading and tracking the text box to make it more clear. I also put in the title of the film I want to go with, as well as some rationale behind it. Lastly, the titles will stay on screen for 3 seconds so that the audience can read them before they leave.

Planning: More Planning (Planning²)

Above is a presentation outlining my schedule, filming locations, participants, and safety precautions. My schedule is a little more lenient as I'm alone. However, that doesn't mean that I'll be putting off filming or working. Whenever I get the chance, I'll film as much as I need to make a good product. I specify that there will be more days outside of the three listed, those are just days that I can list for now. I won't be filming in many places, which fits in with the film I want to make. Having a small list of locations allow me to film a lot more. Same thing for participants, I can change the project if something doesn't work, although there are some issues. The opening I'm planning to make doesn't give me many opportunities to hurt myself. However, anything can happen, so I've planned for that too.

Planning: Dialogue & Sound

Above is a presentation outlining the sounds that should be in the scenes of my film. The music from the first scene isn't decided yet. I had the idea of using a song that was copyrighted, but I've learned that this wasn't possible. So I'll have to look into non-copyrighted songs and decide. Other than that, the script is a little short. There isn't much dialogue, which fits into the idea of the film. K, the main character, is alone in his room and doesn't know he's being spied on. This explains why there isn't much dialogue. Later on, K does talk to himself. These lines are here so that he isn't completely silent the whole time, as well as to provide some context.

Planning: Shooting Script

Above is a presentation of the shooting script for my film. It has 8 scenes planned out, specifically the actions the actors should be taking and the camera angles. Things are subject to change, I could need to add or remove some scenes to fit the time limit. I made sure to think about the filming process, as I could have some issues recreating the image I had in mind. There have been some tweaks done to the original idea to make it possible with my resources. The character that's observing K may be the most difficult to film. I'll need to get a different place to record his scenes, as well as a costume to hide his face. The limitations I have are never apparent before recording. So, I only have speculations as to what I'll need to do. I do expect the script to be mostly reflected in the final product.

Title Research: Dr. No(1962)

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences of the film?

There were 32 titles in the opening sequence of "Dr. No."

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening sequence mostly consisted of flashing lights and dancing silhouettes near the end. The sequence begins with the iconic James Bond intro(Where he shoots the camera).

What connotations do the images carry?

The flashing and colorful lights made it seem like the audience was in store for a more light-hearted film. The film itself most likely deviates from this assumption; however, that's what the intro sequence seemed like: a light-hearted film.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

Excluding the beginning of the film, the opening rivals most of what I've seen on these websites. While some of the intros definitely had color, none of them had as much as this one did. The beginning was the only part that felt in place, due to it being so iconic.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

There really isn't anything to gain here from the opening, there's flashing lights and people dancing. The only thing we can guess on is that the man from the beginning is important in some way.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The iconic James Bond intro is really the only way I'd see this appealing to the target audience. That's not to say that everything else would drive them away, but it is the only part that's comfortable.

How has technology been used effectively?

Again, most of the opening is in some way animation and an effective use of the tools at hand.

Website used: Watch the Titles
https://www.watchthetitles.com/titlesequence/dr.no/

Title Research: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang(2005)

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences of the film?

The opening sequence of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" contained 21 titles.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening sequence show images of crimes being committed;images relating to a, or multiple females; and shots of the book that the movie was inspired by.

What connotations do the images carry?

These images give a loose outline of what the movie is going to be about. Although, it's a bit confusing at first. It makes the audience curious about what's being shown and has them wondering about it.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The opening has plenty of shots of possible victims, protagonists, and villains. Alongside the image of a pair of lips leaving a kiss print, the opening fits snugly into the mystery genre.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

In the opening, we see shots of someone breaking out of prison, someone else being pushed off a balcony at a party, and a third person holding a pistol all in different shots. From these shots, one can put together an outline of what to expect from this movie. Also, there are times where we would see a pair of lips leaving a print. To me, this suggests that a female is the antagonist or some other important role.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

As said before, the opening sequence fits snugly into the mystery genre, especially the detective story portion of it. So seeing familiar imagery in the opening would make the audience who are into mystery films feel right at home.

How has technology been used effectively?

The opening sequence is made up of 2D animation involving silhouettes as the main subjects. It's done very well, I'd say it's an effective use.

Website used: Art of the Title
https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/kiss-kiss-bang-bang/

Title Research: Hostage(2005)

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences of the film?

The opening sequence of "Hostage" contained 31 titles.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

The opening sequence shows different shots of a city while there is heavy police activity. There are police cars blocking off a crime scene, police snipers in position, police teams preparing to search a house, etc.

What connotations do the images carry?

The images give off the feeling that there's some operation taking place that the reader doesn't know about. An operation that may relate to the title of the film, Hostage, but will definitely be revealed during the movie.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The visuals of the police operation taking place fits in with the genre by fitting in with the general view on mystery. When thinking about a mystery film, it's not uncommon to think of a detective or policeman trying to solve a case. So the shots of the police force in the middle of an operation are familiar in the genre.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

The footage of the police force piques the interest of the audience. What are they going up against? Why did they need to block off the street? Is this gonna happen in the movie?

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

As said before, the police aren't a rare occurrence in mystery films. So those who come into the theater to see one, won't be put off by finding out in the beginning sequence that the protagonists are a part of the police.

How has technology been used effectively?

The opening sequence is entirely made up of CGI (computer generated imagery), so a pretty good use of technology.

Website used: Watch the Titles
https://www.watchthetitles.com/titlesequence/hostage/

Title Research: The Usual Suspects(1995)

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences of the film?

The opening sequence of "The Usual Suspects" contained 25 titles.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

In terms of imagery, the film doesn't really go for anything exciting. It shows a body of water and pans across it while showing its credits. There's nothing but the water and the music.

What connotations do the images carry?

The lack of visual content makes the opening sequence mysterious in a way. Some may see it as bland and boring, while others could read it as another part of the mystery. What, if any, significance does this body of water hold?

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

This type of opening, the type where nothing is shown, gives nothing away. It holds the movie's secrets until it's time to give them away. Sort of like solving a mystery, you start off with nothing then gradually build up to the final revelation.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

As mentioned before, some audience members may be trying to figure out what the significance of the water was. However, this isn't really something that'll pop out to everyone as important.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

The opening doesn't cater to any audience, it provides a single reel of footage and nothing else. To me, it seems like the advertising and cast is what appealed to the audiences of this film. The opening sequence serves to draw in the crowd that have already been enticed by the rest of the material.

How has technology been used effectively?

The simplistic design of this sequence doesn't take much technology to pull off. While I can imagine that there were aspects for stabilization, at its core, the sequence is just footage of a body of water at night. Nothing special, really.

Website used: Art of the Title
https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-usual-suspects/

Watch the Titles Website

      The website above, watchthetitles.com, is similar to artofthetitle.com. It gives access to the opening scenes of movies and television shows. Although this website has a lot more other forms of media. Along side movies and television shows, there's also video games, event titles, interviews, student projects, and an event named 'french fridays.' Using this website is a lot more user friendly compared to Art of the Title. There's a list of categories on the opening page, so it's easy to pick what form of media you want to see the opening of and scroll from there. Skimming through the website, the list of movies are a little lackluster. Looking closely, there are a total of 108 movies with more stashed away in a 'watch more' section. Which sounds good, that amount of movies goes against my initial thought. However, there's still the concern of how many of those movies fit into the mystery genre. I don't plan on using a single website for my research, but it's still comforting to know that there is a good chance that there's more than four mystery films in this catalog. I am confident that I'll be able to pick out two movies to research from this website, then two more from artofthetitle.com. I plan to use this website first, due to how much easier it is to see all the movies in one place. a feature I wished these websites had, was somewhere to see the genre of the film without searching it up or reading the description. Other than that, there are no other qualms with the websites.

Art of the Title Website

      The website shown above, artofthetitle.com, gives access to the title sequences from different media. There are movies and television shows on the same website, allowing for one to see the differences in their titles. The movies and shows span across a wide range of genres, which results in a variation of title designs. While watching the openings, I am meant to look for the number of titles, images prioritized and their connotations, use of technology, and any form of foreshadowing in the imagery. In class, we went over an opening sequence and got more insight into the task we will have to complete. We were told that the title 'directed by:' will be the last before the movie starts. Also to remember that this should be applied in the opening sequence that we make. When looking at the opening sequence in class, I noticed that the imagery could be showing the plans of a project leading the major event. This and the examples given by our teacher, the James Bond opening and titles coming of hearts for a romantic film, gives me the impression that the imagery in the openings I watch will be explicit. For my genre, the mystery genre, I expect there to be some detective paraphernalia. Items such as magnifying glasses, footprints, handcuffs, or a wood pipe. Although, I won't be caught off guard if there was something specifically relating to the movie at hand. Some movies can give away their big twist in the opening sequence, although it's not easy to tell when it's done before watching the movie and coming back. Art of the Title has a small hurdle to jump through, that hurdle is the home screen. When first loading into the website, it advertises a top 10 list and doesn't have any clear way to go to its full catalog. It's only a small hurdle as there is a drop down menu that can take you to the catalog of film openings.

Genre Research: Spider-Man: Far From Home

      Spider-Man: Far From Home uses both high and low angles to show off Spider-Man's agility. The movie takes place in Europe, so the set is built to reflect this. There are lots of cutaways to show the action and keep it as the focus. The action scenes require the camera to follow the subject quickly, which is done well. The quick movements don't get too jarring to watch throughout. The movie is packed with diegetic sound, as buildings are destroyed and shots go off. The action scenes are definitely something to marvel at, they are well made and fun to watch. Again, there is nothing to complain about. It's a good movie.