Sound - Cambridge Portfolio Project

 Sound for any production is very important, as it has the ability to express different scenarios just depending on the music played. 

This video perfectly explains my point and explains it better than I could have.

At first, I'll rely on diegetic sound only, using Foley probably to put the gasps and mouns higher pitched, which help create that connection with the audience I want to make. 

After that, soundtracks with minor keys, or a piano-like type, with a lot of drops and place for the talking of the characters to appear and blend in with the music. 

Also, not necessarily there has to be music, as it can also be any sound effect at the moment of the realization or reveal of any moment, as if when the villain walks in as friends with the capture one from the beginning or when the killing is being represented. 

This will be probably one if not the most important part of my project, as it needs to be done perfectly to make it neat and be able to express everything as I have it now planned in my mind, and I hope I can make it right. 

Set - Cambridge Portfolio Project

 The setting for my project will be divided into the 2 different situations which I have already spoke about throughout all my blogs.

The garage will be empty almost, like a garage any normal person would have. This shows my idea that this guy was not a regular murderer, rather a guy that because of something that happened between them turned into that. 

Then, the room where they are getting ready it's the room of a friend of mine, where he has a bathroom connected to his room, so that would be a perfect way to show what I am thinking.

 Not much more to talk about, the time setting is 2025 so no special design is necessary to adjust to a time frame nor anything else to represent the killer or friends. 

The idea is to show how things happened in a normal group of friends, where everything is unexpected.

Lightning - Cambridge Porfolio Project

Lightning for a horror film is very important, as it makes the people watching feel connected with what they are watching and helps to get the meaning deeper and as I want. 

For the part where they are all tied up and the killer is introduced, my idea is to make the place look with a yellow tonality, as it expresses discomfort and is associated with dirtiness and ugliness.

Let's take a not related example, the backrooms:

This place is a fictional internet location that really I don't know where it came from or who started it, but it shows my point. 

This place itself creates discomfort for some reason, the feeling of now belonging and/or being somewhere unknown, but also the light. Being yellow makes you feel even worse, you don't want to be there, and that's where I want to take this place. 

Also, It will have darker specific contrasts, with the character's faces, the surroundings, and setting. My idea is to set a place where the lack of light and yellow is very present.

 

Adding up, the red of blood must really be highlighted, it has to really shine. Followed by the sweat and tears, it has to be a very vivid moment. 

For the flashback, there will be natural lightning, not anything special. Light will be a cool, white, but nothing much. I don't see a reason why on why to add any tension by difference in lightning that scene. 

What I ill touch in my next blog, is the set, so keep updated for any of my following posts. 

  

Character Development - Cambridge Portfolio Project

 It is time for developing my charcter for the project, thus which I have a very clear idea in mind for. 

My main character will be using a black normal t-shirt, like if it was in a completely random moment which he was captured. He will be played by myself, and is portrayed as the “leader” of the group, or the one with the most influence. Aswell, he will think things very thoroughly and be very cautious on what to and what not to do. As the physical appearance is not very important for the production, just being normally dressed will be ok.

Also, for my other friend in my same situation, it will be the sane thing basically, as we are both in a sitaution were the capture was not nearly anticipated and also my idea is that the qhole sequence wasn’t in any special ocasion, rather just in a short sequence, but it won’t be shown in my film so it’s unnecesary to explain. His personality is a bit different, he’s the funnier one and the most outrageous, meaning he is fearless and doesn’t think things very through.

Now, for the antagonist, He is the taller and older looking guy out of us 3. He is more quiet and shy, but on the same side looks like he is having a desire to be the center of attention. He will be using a jacket and long pants, followed by timberland boots. This is to show the rusty this guy is and to also let the audience imagine where they were that he needed to be that dressed with those clothes.

For the flashback, not much needed, we will all wear probably cargo pants and white shirt, as it is what most people use nowadays to go out to a party.

I’m still thinking about maybe adding any feature to any character but in the most part that would be it.

Storyboard - Cambridge portfolio project

 

INSIDER

After a lot of consideration, I came up to the title of the project, "insider", alluding to the situation with the friend group and how one of them ended up being the traitor in a way. 

This is my main initial idea, which can change probably over time and between the boxes there is going to be more content, but it will be tedious to draw it as I am not good at it and it will be unnecessary to draw it for my personal organization. 

I will be probably doing the script next week so I'll keep everything updated here in case anything changes and show how the evolution of the project is going. 

My Project - Cambridge Portfolio Project

 After a lot of thinking and help from the members of the group meetings, I came up, with what at the moment, think is the final version of my project.  

The fil will start with an immediate close up of the main character face waking up or already exhausted, and then continue by showing his friend by his side also attacked, being represented by scars on his face or/and blood all over him. Both of them are tied up and their mouths covered with a rope around their mouth. 

After that, he will start inspecting the room, while suddenly, the killer (their friend) shows up and starts giving them a little speech, giving us a slight hint on why he did what he did, which could be completely unreasonable or understandable for certain kind of audiences, which I have not decided yet. 

Following up, he starts to murder the friend by his side, while he is watching. The killing will be represented by the expressions in the main character's face, and then showing the dead corpse, but never seeing the actual action. 

The villain then walks away by maybe saying something, and the camera shows him watching his friend, "crying", or what the actor can do, and then fading away with a shot of the house and the continuous mouns.  

A sudden shot of the main character then getting ready for a party in the mirror then appears, and then the 2 other guys show up in the room and start talking, while the screen shows the setting and how much time ago this was, representing this is a flashback, and we are now seeing how they got into that situation. 

Mise-en-scene is key, as the make up and props such as fake blood, utensils, or clothes the characters wear is really important. They will all wear normal clothes during the assault, and then when they are preparing to go out they'll have more formal ones. The whole color theme of the assault will be very dark but highlighting the sweat and expressions, while in the flashback everything will be lighter and with more color. 

The soundtracks are also a huge fact here. During the act there will be a thrilling music, with lots of drops, while not necessarily has to be some in the flashback, I'll probably use speakers with music as diegetic sound like the characters are getting ready. 

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Media Theory - Cambridge Portfolio Project

 Media Theories are important to engage audience in any project or production, and in this case, I think the proper way to develop my story is through the "Hypodermic Needle Theory".

This theory is based on the immediate impact and influence on audience. In my case, the way it is going to be used is by showing the instant action of the killing/ people being tide up and severely attacked. 

This way will automatically shape the audience's view negatively towards the killer, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how the movie goes on but which I'm not involved. This can work either way because for example if in the movie the two other guys commit any crime or did something that drove this villain to do that, maybe people will start to feel empathy, but if they did nothing wrong and the villain just went crazy, people will feel anger and disgust throughout the whole movie. 

The idea always is to generate an impact on what you are doing; If people don't feel anything about the production, that's where you fail. 

Also, this theory makes you want to continue watching rather than just leaving, due to its engaging nature. If you start by seeing the final outcome and then a flashback, it makes you want to keep understanding how and why did they end up in the situation they were in, which is highly beneficial to the production in general and affects positively the overall project. 

Group meetings #1- Cambridge Portfolio Project

We concluded with the first group meetings, and I have to say I am not impressed but I need to seriously reconsider my whole project and what course I have to take it to.

This is the following list they made about the things pointed out and things to improve my project:

• Proper casting  
• Lighting can be used to your advantage 
• Too much for the film opening 
• Introduces murderer 
• More specific on what the blog post is about for each post 
• Movie color vibe yellow 
• More personality 
• Doesn’t know whether if character is expecting it or not 
• Somewhat generic 
• Needs something unique that sets it apart 

In addition, they added that the whole idea is very generic, which thinking in retrospective, they are certainly right. It is not a very unique and original murder story, so I most probably have to change the whole thing in order to create the best final copy possible.

After looking for alternatives, I got caught up with the movie "a quiet place"(2018), and came into my mind a maybe better alternative idea.

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I can just start with the action, instead of driving the audience to the tragedy. The story can start taking place in the garage, with very little to none lightning and the character, "tom", wakes up in the garage, covered in his own blood and tied up from bottom to top and his mouth strapped. It must be a very vivid image of both really sweaty and having a really stressful time.

After that, "Roy", comes into scene, and kills his friend in front of him. This scene is not directly scene, but instead the killing is portrayed by sound and a close up of tom's face expressing fear and desperation.

Then the scene ends with the leaving of Roy and the dead body revealed, and then a moaning sound from Tom like trying to shout but unable to. The camera fades into the outside of the House and the scream goes on as the title of the movie appears. After that, to let the audience know they are actually friends, a flashback will appear where the three of them are in a house, about to go to a party. The music is in a speaker and they are in a room just getting dressed and talking, which shows their friendship. as they are about to leave, the movie cuts and the opening finishes. 

The idea is to introduce the idea differently, and the movie is supposedly to go back in time and show how did they end up in that situation.

Colors, and especially facial expressions must be a key to the project, as a lot of aspects must be understood and not seen due to my lack of resources compared to what a major production company may have,

Sounds will be a key and especially the sounds coming from tom as his friend is being killed. Foley here will play an essential role as the moaning is the heart of the film to express the sentiment to audience, and respectively must be heard loud and vivid.

Cambridge Portfolio - Final As Media project

 

Having organization and schedule is key to produce any project 

My idea for the itineraries for this project will be the following:

1. Planning
• Coming up with movie plot idea.
• Storyboard
• Finding actors
• Choosing location and date for filming.
2. Production
• Filming scenes
• Recording all necessary Foley 
3. Editing
• Putting the footage together
• Include credit sequence and title.
4. Revise
• check for any imperfection and record again any video if needed. 

From now on I have around 2 months for the final draft. For my organization, the plan would be the following:

Week 1 

• Research genre and best opening sequence.
• Start with the plan made before.

Week 2 

• Storyboard 
• Set filming days
• Think of all the mise-en-scene elements necessary for production.

Week 3

• Film video and Foley.

Week 4

• Editing
• Finish the first final draft.

Week 5 (3/12-3/18)

• Research if elements used correctly.
• Check for any re-doing of any sequence or scene.

Week 6

• Add the final details such as the credits and title of the film. 
• Add soundtracks correctly
• Music perfection needed and lightning

Week 7 

• Very final details and arriving due date. 

Now, I have to focus on trying to stick to my planning and go step by step properly, I'll keep everything updated through my following posts.

Cambridge Portfolio - Final As Media project

                                                                                IT(2017)     

Another option to consider, is the infamous It. This movie can provide another view of sequence, where I can do as if the character is naïve and even though all the indications tell him to go away, he stays and faces the worst outcome.

My idea is still start with the black screen and writing a quote that relates to the unexpected of someone's actions. 

For the credits, It would be appearing as the movie goes on, the first names appearing while the character is walking, being the last, the production, which would appear either when the Roy opens the door or when they start talking about this friends incident. The title of the film will appear at the very end of the sequence, once the friend is caught with the body of the disappeared one and the bad friend attacks him. 

The characters will be using casual clothes, and maybe tom will use like a dressing jacket as maybe he is coming from work. The lightning inside the house would be yellow-ish, which shows discomfort and bad sentiment, like an obscure place to be in, but always the full view of the house will be with lower lightning, specially in the garage. 

At the beginning, bugs will be hear to express the night and how he is outside, but then it will be absent at all times, being with complete diegetic sounds to make it more uncomfortable, but, when Tom starts to wonder about the noise in the garage, it starts a low to high song that drops when the body is found and Roy stands behind him.

To finish, a shot of the garage followed by screams and horrifying moans is seen while the title is seen on screen, being then the opening finished. 

Cambridge Portfolio - Final As Media project

                   Trick r Treat (2007)        

Moving on with horror, Trick r Treat illustrates one of the ideas in my mind perfectly.  Specifically, I loved the shots where it looks like a pov coming from this evil toy, which I can twist and make it like the friend did not expect the visit and looks carefully who it is in the door through the window before opening it.  

My idea is still start with the black screen and writing a quote that relates to the unexpected of someone's actions. 

For the credits, It would be appearing as the movie goes on, the first names appearing while the character is walking, being the last, the production, which would appear either when the bad character opens the door or when they start talking about this friends incident. The title of the film will appear at the very end of the sequence, once the friend is caught with the body of the disappeared one and the bad friend attacks him. From now on, the villain of the film is called Roy, the initial guy is called Tom, and the disappeared one is called Sam. 

Sam will still be in a picture of the 3 of them in the kitchen counter, when the character sees him and states he misses him, alluding to the topic that he is missing and preventing the movie of reveling the issue, instead it's done indirectly and adds naturalism and flow with the story as it would normally do, instead of forcing the atrocity right in.

The characters will be using very informal clothes, as they are just chilling and having a good time in the house. The lightning inside the house would be yellow-ish, which shows discomfort and bad sentiment, like an obscure place to be in, but always the full view of the house will be with lower lightning, specially in the garage. 

At the beginning, bugs will be hear to express the night and how he is outside, but then it will be absent at all times, being with complete diegetic sounds to make it more uncomfortable, but, when Tom starts to wonder about the noise in the garage, it starts a low to high song that drops when the body is found and Roy stands behind him.

To finish, a shot of the garage followed by screams and horrifying moans is seen while the title is seen on screen, being then the opening finished. 

Cambridge Portfolio - Final As Media project

 SCREAM V(2022) 

After a lot of thinking, I decided to go for horror as the genre for my project. For just the first 2 minutes of the film, my thought of the starting with this idea of a murderer being introduced s way more complete. In my action scenario, It would be too much information for just 2 minutes and it would feel generic; in this way, I can develop a more profound background on the character, in this case, the murderer. 

I then started to look for options o how to start developing intrigue on who the killer is, and I immediately thought about the opening of scream v. The way the fear is developed through  phone call makes me think of alternatives for finding out his friend is the killer. It can be by either when the character goes to the bathroom he receives a call that leads to his kidnapped friend, for then being himself the victim. 

One of my ideas for the credit scenes is to starting off will a full black screen and writing a quote that relates to the unexpected of someone's actions. 

While the text is playing, the main character's voice is heard, speaking in the phone with someone and then the text fades of and the screen goes from black to the ongoing things in real life, and the whole story begins.

The friend could be in a picture of the 3 of them in the kitchen counter, when the character sees him and states he misses him, alluding to the topic that he is missing and preventing the movie of reveling the issue, instead it's done indirectly and adds naturalism and flow with the story as it would normally do, instead of forcing the atrocity right in.

Cambridge Portfolio - Final As Media project

 GENRE AND WRITTING THE STORY

Another option I have considered is action. I feel like it would be the second most accurately way that my story can still be properly illustrated. My second idea could be to develop a story about a man, which is walking to a friends house while having a big fight with his mom by a phone call. They hung up and then enters his friends house finally. After a while, he receives a call again from his mom, at which he finally replies and answers madly, to the surprise that it was not his mother, instead a neighbor that heard screams, went in, and found his mom dead, thinking it was a heart attack. He then goes into the crime scene to find out it was not accident, someone broke in, and committed the murder. Now, he is looking for the responsible for his mother death.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS 


Action movies are often driven by lower lightning. This type of films is often driven by fighting against evil or revenge, which in my case, would be the chosen one. The use of music is key, as it illustrates the stress every situation generates more accordingly to what the production wants but also adds depth to the character. 

WHAT MAKES ACTION GOOD?

An action film needs to have good writing, meaning, and good actor performances at expressing hate and desire to do what is good. That being said, the story has to have a good story and meaning on why is everyone doing what they are doing.

The Equalizer (2014)

This movie perfectly represents what I would like to illustrate in my opening, with a significant meaning on his revenge and also with a great actor performance and soundtracks, that make this one of the most acknowledgeable action movies of all time. 

Cambridge portfolio - Final AS Media project

GENRE AND WRITTING THE STORY

I've decided to go with a horror. I feel like it would most accurately illustrate my story in the best way possible by developing the story as intended. My idea is to develop a story about a man, which is walking to a friends house while also speaking in a phone call about nothing important. When he enters through the door to the house, he speaks with his friend when suddenly a missing person conversation/new on tv pops up. They speak briefly about it but something feels of. The same man now goes to the bathroom when suddenly he starts to hear like moans/strange sounds from the garage. He then decides to enter to find out that the missing guy was tied up and severely injured there in the floor. Suddenly, he looks back and his friend was waiting for him with a knife.

GENRE CHARACTERISTICS 


Horror movies are mostly represented by dull and lower lightning. This type of films often focus on how sinister a person can be, or how stressing situations that incommode audience constantly happen, which in some cases are unimaginable for some people.

WHAT MAKES HORROR GOOD?

A horror film needs to have good writing and impolute actor performances at expressing fear to the people watching. That being said, the story has to have an incredibly good background. storyline to set correctly into pieces and acting on point to be considered really good. 

American Psycho (2000)

This movie portrays how obscure a person can be, someone who every day seems normal to everybody, but at night transforms into a psychopath that kills people. The elements used in this film are on point, with an outstanding Patrick Bale's performance and an amazing storyline developed by the production.