Final Blog Post - CCR SUBMISSIONS

 Question Number 1 - "How does the product change or challenge conventions, and how does it represent social groups or issues?"

Interview With Director

Question Number 2 - "How did your production skills develop through this project?"

Director's Commentary over Video

Question Number 3 and 4 - "How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - into this project? How would your film engage audiences and be distributed in a real setting?"

PPT on Technological Convergence

                                             

Final Brief Submission

 DHOST

Directed By Sherjil Munir and Isaac Gonzalez

This is our final project; we've spent a few months researching and getting this ready for you, so we hope you enjoy it!

Production Blog 1 - Asset List

 Hello Everyone! Welcome back to my blog! Today, I'll be recapping our first production; or at least, parts of it! We'll be going over the list of assets; Characters, Props, and Tools used

PROPS

For our production, we used four major props; Fake Blood, a Mask, a Chainsaw, and a Red Light.

The fake blood was used after the scene where Sherjil is knocked out - it was applied to the doctor's coat and the chainsaw in order to make it seem that the killer has had repeat victims.

The mask was used first in the Garage Scene where Sherjil is knocked out; It adds menace to the villain by concealing their face, and also adds a layer of creepiness to the ordeal

The Chainsaw was used in the scene of Sherjil being cut up, in order to contextualize the following scene with his body in the bag.

The red light was used in order to add on to the unboxing scene; adding menace to it. It was placed over the box, with the lights in the Garage turned off.

Characters / Project Members

For our project members, we had three people in total; Isaac (Me,) Who worked on Filming and Camerawork;

Sherjil Assad, who was the director of our production, and was the victim in our film opening;

and Sherjil's Cousin, who played the main antagonist and offered to drive us around for our film;

Planning Post 3 - Assignment and Designation of Roles

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog! We're making pretty significant process on the planning stage, but we're going to need to assign the roles of everyone around here, and define each aspect of our jobs, so that we'll properly be able to work on this efficiently. With all that said, lets meet the members!

Starting off with Isaac Gonzalez - Me! I'm about 16 years old, almost 17 now, and I'm currently teamed up with Sherjil on our project, 'DHOST.' My jobs are as follows:

-I am the Cameraman, Meaning that I'll take all of the shots, and I'll also be in charge of storyboarding. My job is important, because Camerawork is inheritly important in every movie, especially thrillers. By capturing the right moments at the right time, Audiences can feel much more connected to a character, and the Director can properly project his vision on the project. through the visuals

-I am also assisting Sherjil with creating the Script for DHOST - I've come up with the second draft, and am currently working on the final draft with him. This is also a very important job - as we'll need to properly refine our vision quickly with our sped-up production schedule from outside circumstances

-Lastly, here's a picture of me! :

Sherjil Assad is the next member of the group. He, too, is 16 turning 17, and his jobs are as follows:

Sherjil is the Director, meaning that he controls the creative vision for most of the project, and also has the final say on most if not all matters regarding the project. He's got a finger in almost every aspect of its creation, from the scriptwriting to the editing, to even aspects of my job, like camera shooting. While refining the aspects that fall under my job are, of course, my purview, it's up to Sherjil to proofread and approve them

Sherjil is also an actor in our film opening, acting as the 'Protagonist' for our opening, Sherjil will be playing the role alongside his cousin, who will be playing as the actor for the Antagonist in 'DHOST'. Sherjil's role as the 'protagonist' is simply to act as fodder for our villain to kill off so the Audience has reason to fear him, as well as build the mystery

Here is a picture of what Sherjil looks like! :

Planning Post 2 - Camerawork

 Hello Everyone! Now that we've done our script, you'll notice that I have quite a few tricky angles that I'll need to be shooting from, so we'll go more into depth about how those angles will be used, how I can achieve those angles, and, more importantly, how I'll maintain 'continuity' within the piece, as well as the equipment we'll be using to film.

So, starting off, there's a shot in Scene Five that's taken from underneath the table - this is suppoused to be the perspective of the doll we see later on in the scene, and this shot is there for an important reason. It helps build the tension, making it feel as if someone is watching our protagonists as they wander the house. After all, tension is incredibly important to movies like thrillers. 

As you can see, the shot is done so that it overlooks the room from the bottom, but angled to mimic the tilt of the head, which is crucial for a POV shot. It gives the impression that we are indeed seeing the shot directly from the eyes on the character, while telling the audience that the threat is nearby, and danger is imminent, creating a sense of impending doom and suspense to draw them in.

Another shot that we'd utilize during filming can be found in the Sixth Scene of the script - with the camera looking up at the character from the Pot. In order to get this angle, the simple trick is to place the camera within the empty pot, and then edit in anything afterwards that would be needed to maintain the illusion that the view of the audience is actually inside the broth (Like coating the image in a red filter). Here is an example of the shot:

Focusing on the reaction of the character while concealing the contents of the container that the camera is looking up from adds onto the audience's natural sense of curiosity, and further entices them to watch the rest of the film. It also helps conceal the villain's nature, so as to keep the Audience guessing and the Villain intimidating. Shots like these that focus on human emotions are very important

On that topic, I also plan to use an extreme close-up shot to capture the Character's emotions during the climax in the Fifth Scene, with the Character being grabbed by the villain through the window. As can be seen here, Extreme Close-Ups allow you to get a glimpse into the state of mind of a character without the usage of much dialogue, and can be very useful for expressing emotions like fear:

And that all the shots I have planned for filming! Which one do you think would be most effective? Leave a comment telling me why, and make sure to come back next time!

Planning Post 1 - Scriptwriting

Hello everyone, and Welcome back to my Blog! Now that we're done with the research phase, We'll be transitioning into the planning phase - so that means things have to become more concrete, and we need to get ready for filming, and all the stuff that comes after! But first, before we film, we'll need a script. A script will determine how the characters interact with each other and how the film is directed.

Contents of the Script

A script for Media Studies will be broken up into around six scenes - the same number of scenes present in the storyboard.

The script must contain enough context for the audience to discern just enough to understand the threat of the antagonist, but not quite enough that they are able to fully understand what the villain is, and what their motivations are, in order to keep them threatening. 

The script should introduce the main setting and the characters involved, and should entice the audience to continue watching the rest of the film.

The Script Itself

SCENE ONE

Character A sits in the back of a car - his face is reflected in the window, which the camera looks out of. Unnamed Character A's face is visibly disturbed. His head turns

C-A: "Look, man, I.. I believe you, I really do, but.. Can't we at least save this for the morning, yknow..?"

The shot changes - the back of Character B's seat can be seen - muffled music plays in the background. Character B looks frustrated, as he turns his head slightly

C-B: "Dude, I already TOLD you we HAVE to do it at night; It's CLOSED every morning. it's always closed; I checked twice, thrice, four goddamn times; IT'S ALWAYS CLOSED IN THE MORNING!"

Character B turns his head back to the road. He sighs deeply.

C-B: ".. Look, I just.. I just need to make sure I'm not going crazy, alright? We'll.. We'll check it, yeah? Take a look around, five minutes tops, and if we see ANYTHING, we'll book it. Okay?"

The shot pans back to C-A. He's slightly disturbed by his friends' outburst, but he turns back to the window, and grabs the door handle.

C-A: "Alright, Fine.."

He seems not to think that what Character B is saying is real, there's a hint of annoyance in his voice.

SCENE TWO

The two stare at a house outside of the parked car. The headlights are the only source of light, it's almost pitch black outside. A sign says 'FOR SALE' in the front yard. The garage door is wide open. Character B runs up to it, pointing

C-B: "SEE?! See?! Look; LOOK! THE DOOR'S OPEN!"

C-A: "I.. I dunno man, maybe you just left it open when you-"

C-B: "Nooo Nonononono.. I know for a FACT I closed that door. A-And look, I can PROVE it to you! Here!!"

Character B digs through his pocket and pulls out his phone, he taps the screen a few times while walking over to Character A. He shows him the screen - one of the cameras. It shows Character B closing the Garage door, dated at 9:36 - Only an hour beforehand

C-A: "Well, wait, if the cameras work, why dont you just..?"

C-B: "I DID! Just.. Keep LOOKING!"

Character B goes to another clip from the camera footage, where it detected movement. An ominous figure in all-black, whose face cannot be seen, opens the door. The camera footage cuts out immediately after the Garage door begins opening. Character A looks scared, and his speech reflects it

C-A: ".. I.. I dunno about this man.. It's.. It's probably just some crazy homeless dude or whatever - maybe a squatter.. I-If we just call the cops, they'll just arrest him or whatever, and that'll be the end of it.."

C-B: "HELL no! This house's got, like, twenty windows and a backdoor! Plus, it's ten, maybe eleven in the morning! Even if that old coot sticks around long enough for the cops to show up, AND if the cops believe us , he could just book it when he hears sirens, the cars, the police coming in through one of the doors.."

C-A: "But isn't that what we want? Yknow.. the guy to leave?"

C-B: "What? You think i'm just gonna let him leave?! After all the grief I'VE been getting over a bunch of buyers getting cold feet from this head-empty wacko breaking in every night? Yeah right - you're funny! I'll have him swallow a few teeth first, THEN we'll let him go."

Character B walks up to the garage, but Character A lags behind. The camera turns to the inside of the Garage and Character B's back.

C-B: "What, you wanna wuss out on me now?.. Look, if you're so worried about it, then just get something from the garage to whack the old guy with if he gets too uppity.."

C-A: "Yknow, I'd rather NOT whack the guy at all if I can help it!"

C-B: "Yeah right; you're just SCARED that you'll get overpowered by some rotten old lunatic who hasn't eaten in three days! Just get in here before I decide that maybe I wanna start tearing you a new one, too!"

Character B goes inside. Character A looks around, debates going inside with himself for a moment, and then runs in behind him, grabbing a wooden plank from off the wall as he does so. The scene cuts

SCENE THREE

The two are walking down a hallway into the Living Room. It's dimly-lit.

C-B: "Where'd I put the lights..?"

The sound of the Garage Door closing is heard. Then a door slamming. Both characters turn - Character A looks scared, and jumps, clutching harder onto the plank of wood. Character B turns and turns on his phone's flashlight

C-B: "I HEARD HIM! HE'S MAKING A RUN FOR IT!! THAT SLICK PIECE OF - CMON! GO GO GO!"

Character B rushes Character A out, back from the way they came. the Camera tracks them shakily as they run back through the house, but when they open the door to the Garage, it sets on their faces. They look confused. The camera cuts back to the room - It's the living room, not the Garage

SCENE FOUR

C-B: "What the..?"

Character A is scared, very scared. He goes behind Character B, who looks more confused than anything

C-A: "M-Man, I swear to god, I-If this is a joke or something, I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

C-B: "No.. No wait a minute.. It.. No this is.. I.. Wha..?"

The camera cuts away from the two; It pans around and circles them. They scan the room as it does. It then cuts again - under a table.

SCENE FIVE

A man drags a chainsaw outside, across the grass. Only his boots and the saw itself are seen, and he walks and the camera follows.

MURDERHOBO whistles a tune to himself, the lyrics cannot be heard. The music increases in intensity, as he approaches one of the windows. Character A can be seen, his back to the same window. It cuts to his point of view; a pair of red dots glance at him from under the table. He clutches the wood, as Character B backs up as well, to the opposite wall. The music cuts out, and zooms in on Character A's face.

C-A: "W-What is that thing..?! WHAT-"

MURDERHOBO knocks on the window. Character A freezes and begins to turn around

C-B: "WAIT! GET AWAY FROM THE WIND-"

MURDERHOBO'S Hand breaks through the window and grabs Character A by the neck. The camera cuts to black; the sounds of a chainsaw can be heard, and then dripping. 

SCENE SIX

Cut to the morning; Cops are inside of the house, staring at a pot left on the stove. A doll, with the pot's contents - a blood red soup - poured all over it's mouth and wearing a bib, sits on the counter. The police take a ladle, and sift through the soup in the pot. The camera does not show whats in it, but the officer's eyes widen in horror as he looks into the pot. He screams, and it cuts to the titlecard. 

END OPENING

Research Post 11 - Storyboarding

 Hello, and Welcome back again! This time, I'll be outlining the six major storyboards for the project - Shots, angles, and the script will be outlined in this post. 

For the first scene, The camera should start off with a closeup of the character's face, as he enters the garage/storage room. It should be dark, and he's holding a flashlight that only partially lights the room. As he enters, the Camera zooms out. Only ambient sounds can be heard, accompanied by only a shrill violin - the floorboards creek, the shadows shift. Behind boxes and under tables, only a purple tint can be plainly seen mixed in with the inky blackness. A sound is heard as something shifts behind.

In the second scene, the Camera is taken from an over-shoulder point of view. The back of the character's head is obscured - only the flashlight offers the reprieve from the darkness. We only see asinine antiques, dusty shelves of bits, bobs, and all other manner of odd ends and whatnot, scattered about. The character holding the flashlight moves his head around - the camera makes the appropriate 180 turn to the opposing shoulder. Again, only inconsequential items, tokens and trinkets can be seen. Alongside them, sewing kits, dolls, and other rather unsettling memorabilia from a time long past. Sounds of shuffling can be heard. The character swings his flashlight around again.

In the third scene, the shot is finally taken from our assailant's point of view. Carefully concealed from the light, we see the character's back and feet, as he sweeps around the dark. The camera slowly pans to the right. The character takes a few steps back, before turning back around and advancing further into the darkness. The flashlight sweeps over the camera's position. Only partially it is illuminated; the shadows the flashlight casts keep the villain and the camera hidden. The Character moves on.

The fourth scene is taken from above. A dusty, dinky fan spins, covering the camera momentarily every so often. Below, the character rummages through a pile of trinkets. He's looking for something. The flashlight has been put down as he does so. It partially illuminates his body, but in the inky blackness, movement. He stops, hesitating, and reaches for the flashlight. The character backs away, and debates leaving - turning for the exit... But, after a moment's hesitation, decides to advance only a slight bit further, having spotted the object he was looking for.

The fifth scene is another over-shoulder. We see the character, preparing to open a box. He sets the flashlight down to illuminate it. The music cuts out - only the ambient breathing and the dusty fans' slow spin are audible. With a deep breath, the box is opened.

The sixth and final scene set us within the box as it opens. The cast shadows keep only half of the Character's face illuminated, but we can clearly see the contortion of horror as the Camera rapidly zooms in on his face. After that, it cuts to black...

... And, that's about all for the Storyboarding plan! Let me know what you think; I'd really appreciate some honest commentary on my skills! Until next time, though.. I bid you Adieu!