FIRST DAY FILMING!!!

Ahhh! We're finally filming. I got my friends Jillian and Sebastian to act in our opening. They're both in drama and are very talented actors which is perfect because the first part of the opening does have to show some chemistry between the young lovers and includes a bit of dialogue. Jillian has also taken this class before, so she understood what we had to do and knows the process. This was helpful because she gave us insight on struggles she went through while she filmed her project, and how she made them work.

We went out to Markham Park and began filming at dusk so it was dark enough to establish that it was late at night, but was light enough for the camera to actually pick up on what we were filming, especially when we want to film the most recognizable shot of the opening; the blood splattering on the window of the car. The lighting actually began to become a problem at some point of the night due to the very little gap between dusk and the sunset.

The location was perfect. We had the romantic teenage-lovers aspect that we wanted, but at the same time we had a very scary trail right on the opposite side, which would be used in the rest of the film.

Once we arrived to the forest, my partner and I had no idea where to start. We weren't even fully sure what we wanted to do or how anything would turn out. We told Jillian and Sebastian what we wanted them talking about on the hood of the car, and they improvised once they got the basic idea of how each character feels about the situation and their role in the film. This is why actors ROCK. It was so impressive watching them just create this fake chemistry in a matter of seconds. Once we got the scene on the hood down, we took it into the car and let it get all sorts of steamy. By the time we got what we needed from the scene inside the car it was already pitch black outside which meant our first day of filming was a success.

We decided to use two cameras while filming the first part (the hood of the car) because it was a very static scene and using many angles/motions throughout the conversation would make it a little more interesting and dynamic. I hope we can actually cut it correctly to make it look fluent. While we filmed a very little part of the scene, when the killer had to lead the victim into the car to distract him, it became darker, So I had to hold four phone flashlights as Kayleigh filmed in order to keep the lighting from before. I had to face the flashlights sideways in order to avoid the glare on the side of the car. We also used the flashlights from inside the car, when we were filming the snogging. That's when the first day came to an end.

Overall our first day was a success and also taught us a lot.

1) Preparation is kind of important. We spent a lot of the time trying to figure out how to do things, how things are going to play out, etc. We also forgot to bring the murder weapon, which is a big deal, provided that this is a murder horror film. We also forgot to take into consideration that fake blood stains almost everything in its path. SOOO this is very important because we wanted to do the blood splattering scene until I realized that maybe my mom didn't want blood stains on her window in her family-friendly SUV. It just doesn't send good a message to the neighbors. So we have a lot of things to think about in regards to how we want to make the splatter shot successful.

2) Considering time. We did realize that we had a very limited amount of time to film, but we did not think that we would be using so much of our time trying to get everything together and having to retake the same shots so many times, changing ideas. If we would have prepared, than our time would have been much more approachable because we would be using it wisely.

3) It's not gonna turn out how you originally expected. We made a lot of sudden changes in the spur of the moment, and also made a lot of improvements while we filmed. Our actors actually helped us a lot and gave us many ideas on things we could have done and how we could have shot certain takes. For example, Sebastian had the idea of the boyfriend using his phone while they talked on the hood of the car, while they go down memory lane, talking about all the fun times they've had together. This was a great idea! It made sense with the age group, it was a real thing that couples do, showing that they really are a real couple, and it seemed to be an effective way to begin the conversation.

Thanks Jillian & Sebastian!

Change of Plans...

Though I loved our original idea, we felt it may have been a little too chaotic for two minutes, and we felt that it was too much to dive into at the very beginning of our movie. The opening is now going to start with a shot of the young couple (still the killer and the victim) sitting on the hood of a car, reminiscing about the fun times they've had together in the past. They then move on to the topic of college and moving away next year, the girl (killer) tells him not to worry about the future, and just focus on now. She leads him into the car where they then start getting "jiggy with it", if you will. We see them in the car, doing their thing, we then see the girl pull out a weapon from her pocket. The boy is still oblivious to the situation. The next shot would be the girl lifting the weapon, as of now we're hoping that it'll be a knife of some sort, and then the boys face followed by a long shot of the car from the outside, and blood splattering on the window along with the sounds of screams. The killer than walks out the car with blood on her face and the boys body falls over, hanging outside of the car.

Though we did not include the POV shot that we were really looking forward of using, it is still a very well-developed first opening and we feel that it will be more effective and manageable than the original opening. The motive/plot is still the same as before.

Finally! A Plotline!

We've finally agreed on a Plotline. So here's what's going down: a teenage girl is killing all of her friends because she doesn't want the gang to get split up once they all graduate. She is the only one that will not be going away/leaving town to go to college and is feeling anxious about this change but also angry that her friends and boyfriend are planning to leave her behind as they start this new journey in their lives; without her. So she thinks that the only way for them not to leave her, is if she kills them, and eventually kills herself when she's done. How we chose to let the story play out was that they were all meeting up to go camping in a local park, and she eventually goes on killing all of them throughout the night. She starts by killing her boyfriend.

The opening scene is going to be something like this VERY rough storyboard. DISCLAIMER: we originally planned the killer to be a third party outsider killing random teens in the park, which is why in the killings there are two people getting killed. We changed it to an insider killing the teens because we felt it created an eerie feel.  So the two people shown in the storyboard will be one person, and it will be the murderer's boyfriend. 

The first shot will be an establishing shot of the forest/park. We will be filming at night or late afternoon, creating a scary feel.

The second shot will be a POV shot from the killer's mask. Through the mask eye-holes, we will see the victim with a rope around his mouth and struggling to escape from the killer. 

Cut-away shot to friends at campsite, most likely under the influence, asking where their two friends (the killer and the victim) might be. They jokingly say that the young couple probably snuck off to snoggle. 

Cut-away to victim. We see the victim through the POV shot once again. The killer is grabbing onto the victims legs, dragging him closer as he tries to crawl away from his death. 

Cut-away to the campsite. This scene will most likely be just the friends having a good time, nothing very specific, but the purpose of the constant cutaways in the opening servers as a juxtaposition with what the teens should be experiencing versus what is happening in the forest. 

Cut-away to the victim once more. This last part of the opening will be shown in many different shots, showing the boyfriend strapped naked to a tree in the forest, and the killer slicing his throat. The various shots and cuts in the last part of the opening is to infer the nudity and to also show the victims last chaotic moments alive. The final shot will be the killer walking away from the scene and showing the victims dead body tied to the tree with his slit throat.

Cover Ideas!

Now that we have a solidified idea of how we expect our film opening to turn out, I am in charge of creating graphics. That means, I get to start on making the movie poster for our film! I've been doing some research about how to make a fantastic movie poster. I continue to come across the image on the right. It works as a template that helps guide me into the typical movie poster conventions.  I've also discovered that to create a fantastic movie poster, and the whole point is to convey the genre, capture the audience, and get people to want to see your film. This is tricky because with movie posters one can only put so much, so the image is really the biggest factor. If your image is a picture of a couple kissing, one ca see that it's a romantic film, but does it capture your audience? That's the main thing; getting people to become invested in this film even though they know nothing about it. 

Since our opening is a horror about a masked murderer, the poster should clearly illustrate this. Most horror film openings show the killer in front of a dark, eerie background. All three of the following film posters have been of very successful movies, Scream (1996), Halloween (1978), and The Grudge (2004). They all have very similar convention: dark, eerie, and the killer.

Based on our story-line, my vision of the film poster is the mask of the killer and a forest in the background, which will be Markham park. This way one can see the creepy killer's mask, and see the setting. I'm hoping to incorporate the murder weapon into the film cover, much like Halloween (above) did. These are some film posters that are very close to what I'm envisioning: 

"Halloween." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"How To Make Movie Posters To Promote Your Film." Student Resources. N.p., 02 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"Scream." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.""The Grudge." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

The Party is Rolling

The ideas are FLOWING. My partner and I are finally thinking about specific plots for our opening. As of now, our setting will be Markham Park, which is a local park with lakes and a small forest area. We feel that this will give that creepy/suspenseful right now. We plan to start the shot with a long establishing shot of the park, to then cut to a POV shot from the killer, allowing the viewer only to see through the holes of his mask. This was used in Halloween during the opening scene, we thought this was interesting and also made it easier to show the murder. Since we are not exactly professionals, the visual limitations of the masks will make it much simpler to show murder because one does not see the full action, which means we do not need to spend a lot of time making the murder as convincing, like if we were to show the full action. The scene will be alternating from the victims (a young couple) throughout the process of the murder, and showing their oblivious friends enjoying their camping trip, assuming that the young couple is simply out getting frisky. As this pattern of the alteration of the murder scene and the campsite continues to progress, the last scene will be the killer approaching the campsite with his bloody weapon. The final shot will be a close up of one of the friends screaming as the title of the film is revealed. We've decided not to include credits during the opening because we feel like it will take away from the suspense, and make it less realistic to the viewers by making it less evident that this is a highly manipulated piece of work.

The specific shots that one will see while the witnessing the "process of murder" will be 1) the two victims being taken by the killer to a secluded area as they struggle to escape 2) images of the two victims being shoved on the ground as the killer begins to prepare conditions to kill them off, we also see one of the victims try to crawl away, but the killer quickly reacts and drags them back as he kicks her on the ground 3) the two victims tied naked onto a tree (the nudity will be inferred with many different shots of their body) and finally 4) the killer kills the two victims and leaves his signature mark branded onto them. As of now, the killers brand is an inverted cross, that is commonly related to Satan.

"Halloween." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

What's Scarier than Choosing a Genre? Choosing a Sub-Genre.

Figuring out which sub-genre of horror we want to create will help narrow down what our possible film can be about in regards to plot. We have yet to decide a plot so we are trying to see what type of horror films have the right feel that we are looking for. According to a graphic I found on Pinterest Board horror has many different sub-genres. We want ours to be a little more realistic, because, as explained in my previous post, relevance plays a big factor in whether or not people with watch/enjoy your film. For example if I make a film opening about a killing turkey no ones gonna care because it's irrelevant, thus making it not scary. (And if you are into killing turkeys, the film Thankskilling (2009) actually revolves around that) But for the rest of us, it doesn't do the trick. So with this in mind I want to start eliminating sub-genres of horror that are typically a little more cheesy and a little less realistic.

My options are split into five main categories: Gore & Disturbing, Psychological, Killer, Monster, and Paranormal. As of now I am leaning more towards Psychological and Killer, mostly because I personally fell that they can be the most realistic and thrilling for the audience. Perhaps some Paranormal, much like the film The Ring (2002).  Here are a few sub-divisions of these sub-genres that help narrow down what I can do to follow the basic conventions of the genre.

Psychological
-Madness & Paranoia: similar to slasher films & focuses on the madness of the character instead of focusing on the act of killing itself
-Fanaticism: extreme portrayal of an alternative belief, usually set in a close-knit town
-Phobia & Isolation: uses common fears within the plot, like for example, clowns

Killer:
-Slasher: gruesome murderers usually targeting teens, the murderers are almost always in disguise
-Home Invasion and Survival: invaders are often in disguise, similar to Slashers, the invaders are also very mischievous and cause chaos throughout the film.

These are my two main options, Psychological and Killer, though with these I would like to incorporate either cannibalism or creepy kid because they just add a level of fear to the film that most people can relate to, which is almost like incorporating fanaticism into my piece. I want people to think about how my plot can actually happen and leave it with fear just so I can know for sure that I have done my job.

"Horror Genres and Sub-Genres - A Definitive List - Updated." Horror on Screen Best Horror Scary Movies by Genre. N.p., 10 June 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"Infographic: The Complete List of Film Sub-Genres." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Where Do I Start?

So the journey begins. My partner, Kayleigh, and I have decided to create a horror film opening. This means I had to start researching about our genre, such as their conventions, vital elements, and past successful openings. I figured that if I begin to get some inspiration I can start thinking of techniques and a story line for my own opening.

I just finished watching a video on the top ten best horror film openings according to WatchMojo, and I really loved the openings of Scream (1996) and Jaws (1975). I liked them because they both drew me into the film and left me wanting to watch more. One thing I noticed while watching both openings is that the use of non-diagetic sound was used in order to create suspense, where as up until something goes wrong or the director wants the viewer to begin uncomfortable and question what is going to happen next, it is all diagetic. I thought that this would be important to use in our film because it exposes the reader to the suspense of the opening but without it being very noticeable to the viewer. This made the scenes seem very natural and real, up until the the shark dragged Chrissie into the water or when the killer reveals that he is watching her of course. Within the video POV was used in many of the openings. I love me some good POV. The POV was used along with a hand-held camera, used usually by the murderer or the victim, which makes it easy to show the characters expressions while either murdering or being murdered which can create a very real fear for the audience, which is exactly what we want.

After I examined a few different openings mentioned in the video, I began searching what a horror film consists of and why people like horror films. According to Psychologist Dr. Glenn Walters, there are three things that make up a good horror film: tension, relevance, and unrealism. The tension within the film provokes a need to continue watching to find out what happens and how the problem resolves. When it comes to relevance, it can be explained in many different ways: universal, personal, cultural, or subgroup. This is important because if the movie is not relevant to the audience they will not be interested in the film at all. Unrealism is what allows the viewers to actually sit and watch these horrific images, because since "it is just a movie", they understand that it is a highly manipulated image that has been made to make people feel a certain way, and not an actual young couple parked in the woods for a make-out session about to get eaten alive by a crazy forest man, because that would obviously not be an enjoyable hour and a half.

Other things that I have found to be important are the score, elements of suspense and surprise, and a remorseless killer. The best killers are the ones that are straight up crazy. The ones like Jigsaw from the Saw franchise that is so crazy that when people watch the films they are in complete shock, and almost angry that some one is letting this crazy person put people through such horrible things like in the film. If it weren't for Jigsaw's confidence that what he is doing to his victims is actually him trying to help them, the francise probably wouldn't be that huge and they wouldn't have created six different Saw films. I think this is super important for trying to develop a plot because now I have an idea of how the killer should be based on past success. The elements of suspense and surprise were evident and part of the reason as to why we chose to create a horror film, but what I did find very helpful was knowing how important the score is. I've never thought about it until I read it in many different articles, including The Six Most Important Things That Make a Good Horror Film. I realize that many successful horror films have their own score that becomes a major symbol for the films, for example Jaws, Halloween, Alien, and Psycho. These all have a signature score that makes the film so much better. If you're ever in the ocean at night and someone starts going "duuuuu-dun" (that's the Jaws score in case you didn't get that) you will automatically become terrified because that song is now linked with fear and sharks. This made it very clear to me that  I have to include an original score within my opening for the film in order to really scare the viewers. I've noticed a pattern that I would like to follow, which is that the music can be in the background while the conflict arises, but very softly and once the killer comes out the music crescendos into a very evident part of the scene. The subtlety yet presence of the score will and suspense to the conflict and will cause the viewer to be on their toes.
                                      

Tomorrow I'm hoping to begin working out what exactly our plot will be and begin brainstorming.

 "10 Essential Horror Movie Scores." Consequence of Sound. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. 

IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

 "I JUST MER(MAID) MYSELF HAPPY!!!" Stamped with a Heart. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. 

  "The Psychology of Scary Movies." FilmmakerIQcom. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

"» The Six Most Important Things That Make A Good Horror Film." ScreenCrave. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.

"Top 10 Horror Movie Opening Scenes." YouTube. YouTube. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.