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!

Research Post 10 - Outlining a Script

 Welcome back, Everyone!  Now that we've got all the research out of the way, We have to start outlining the script! Before, I know we wanted to go for a Sci-Fi and Supernatural mix, But lets try to refine that further, so we can make a script to submit for planning!

Now, every single Horror-Thriller needs a villain; So what should the villain for my opening be? Well, the most important part of any Horror Movie Villain is mystique, dramatic flair, and aura. The villain NEEDS to be threatening; and these three aspects are the biggest pieces of that puzzle. Unfortunately, due to our position, we're not exactly able to create a big, threatening villain with a lot of makeup; nor is the advanced setplay or costumes of a major studio readily available to us, so instead, we'll have to make use of camerawork

In order to hide our villain and make him menacing we'll have it be that he's small - possibly a doll, or some sort of other miniature monster, allowing us to shoot from angles from the monster's point of view - under the table, inside of a cabinet, or even from directly above a victim. In that way, we can create plenty of suspense without actually even having to show the villain of the charade we're putting on for the Audience.

Additionally, since openings as we are doing are not usually accompanied by dialogue, sound will take a backseat - instead, lighting will be the pivotal to enhance the menace. As the main focus of the scene, the actor, advances deeper into the set, we'll need to increase the amount of shadows - Light needs to come from a very specific angle in order to obscure much of the room. The concentration of the color purple, as well, would be important to establish. As many other movies I've researched beforehand have done, I'd like to make the color purple a signifier for paranormal events and crossing over to the other world, or death. To do so, as the scene progresses, I'd like to make the tint more purple-ish, as well as have certain objects, like the areas under tables or behind boxes that the villain would hide in.

Research Post 9 - Studying Openings

 Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog! In my last post, We had finished up research for distribution and marketing for the opening. Now that we've finished up on that, and researched the movies in general, Lets look into more targeted examples of openings so that we can get ready to move into our planning stage!

First off, lets establish what makes a film opening good in the first place. The most simple things that every opening needs to do is to hook the audience and to establish the plot and world. These two things are incredibly important, and the success or failure of a film could very well depend on the proper execution of these two aspects of an opening. To hook an audience, a Film opening, particularly a horror film, needs to interest them with the central plot. To this end, there are a great number of stories that begin at a pivotal moment, maybe with the protagonists in a life-or-death situation that occurs near the end of the story, before winding back to the beginning, or maybe with a side character meeting with the main antagonist and, shortly after, a terrible fate. Both of these entice the audience to continue watching, and also fulfill the second purpose of a film opening - to establish the plot and set it in motion. Setting the plot in motion is a very basic aspect of any story, and they are always at the beginning. 

A horror film opening, in addition to doing both of these things, also has to establish the Main villain. Ideally, the villain should remain menacing; In order to keep their mystique or terror, the villain will often have much of their identifiable features obscured, and the method by which they execute the first sacrifice is usually also kept unclear. By doing this, Horror Openings can perform all three of their requirements - Gripping the audience, establishing the plot, and revealing the villain.

It Opening Scene (2017) | Movieclips Trailers

The "IT" opening scene takes a very different approach to the traditional horror movie. Rather than conceal the villain's face, "IT" makes it a point to show, specifically, the whites of Pennywise's eyes, which would usually be an odd decision, because the eyes being concealed are usually the most important part of keeping a villain's mystique, as the eyes are described as a "window to the soul." In simpler terms, unoscured eyes make thing appear more human, and the Whites of one's eyes are also very important to making them appear more human. But, in this case, Pennywise's big, focused eyes, as well as his unsettling bright red makeup that contrasts with his obscured, darkened face and dirty yellow teeth.|

The extreme color contrast in Pennywise's face, between bright reds and whites, as opposed to the dark yellows of his teeth and all-encompassing blacks, makes Pennywise appear unsettling and, suprisingly, inhuman, without having to obscure his eyes. His dialogue, despite being mildly friendly, mismatched with his face. You can tell, even if he doesn't pull the child down in the opening scene, or doesn't kill him on-screen, that he is not well-intentioned, and that he is not human, even if you can see into his dead, white, eyes.

Blog Post 8 - Distribution Practices

Hello, Everyone! Now that I've looked into the marketing practices of movies, The next important step is, obviously, distribution! Distribution is a very important part of movie-making. After all, it doesn't matter how well you make or market it; if you don't distribute it, then nobody can watch it.

The first step of distribution, for most movies, is a Theatrical Release. A theatrical release is when a movie premieres in a Theatre for about two weeks, where the bulk of the revenue comes in. Any movie's Theatrical Release is usually their "make or break" moment, and while revenue can be earned later through DVD or Digital releases, the big bucks are the Theatrical Release.

Sometimes, a Movie will get a Platform release. A Platform release is usually just a release taken by Indie films due to a lack of budget, and therefore only is featured in certain locations in few cities. A platform release does not usually get a digital release, and they are much more contained than a Theatrical Release. Platform Releases are also usually reserved for award contender. Platform Releases can expand into a full-blown theatrical release if reviews and box office numbers are higher than anticipated.

But, once the average Movie's theatrical is done, they move onto Digital releases, like on streaming platforms. Digital releases allow the movie to be watched and downloaded by subscribers and usually contributes the least to the movie's actual revenue. The Digital Releases are still important to draw subscribers to the platform, however, so they are usually staggered out by a few weeks after it's theatrical release to entice subscribers into seeing the movie anyways, so they don't have to wait until it's available digitally.

After a Digital Release is done, the Movie then can be transferred into Physical Media, although the popularity and widespread transition of movies onto Blu-Ray has become less prevalent in the movie industry nowadays. Physical mediums are usually either for International releases without the means to access digital copies, or for collectors and bonus content to be distributed and entice diehard fans to buy the movie.

Finally, through physical media or digital media, an International Release is performed with an accompanying dub. These international distributions are usually more measured and have seperate deals with regional distributors, and may also be edited in order to fit the culture of the area or to comply with regulations regarding film within the country.

Blog Post 7 - Promotion and Selling the Movie

 Welcome back to my blog! Now that I've done a deep-dive into the Market Viability of the genre, I think it'd be best to understand how I'd want to market my movie. As such, we'll be looking into past examples again, to take inspiration for what the movie should look like!

Starting off, I established that I wanted it to be a Sci-Fi, Supernatural Thriller. Movies leaning more towards Supernatural elements, however, as discussed in Blog Post 6, tend to sell better, so leaning into those aspects more should be more beneficial for the movie if it were to hit markets.

In order to look into an example of a successful campaign and what should be done for it, I have once again looked into the movie IT - which had an incredible marketing and PR team that helped get it off the ground. The first example of this very clearly refined campaign can be seen in the first advertisements they ever dropped.

In this particular advertisement, two striking colors - Yellow and Red - become the first things the audience will lay their eyes on. The characters Pennywise and the child he inevitably kidnaps are ominously, barely lighted. While this helps create suspense for the film and how the characters will be brought to life, the striking colors and imagery of the raincoat and the balloon make them instantly iconic. In following campaigns, real-life viral stunts centering around the balloon as the "Symbol" for the film made marketing for the movie recognizable by a glance, constantly bombarding the public with a stream of marketing for the film to encourage them to go see it.

These viral stunts didn't stop at the red balloon, however. The studio organized other things, like a parade of clowns who cried that the movie ruined their livelihoods by making Pennywise, a clown, scary to children. A stunt that was only revealed to be fake after the Journalists looked into the 'Victim businesses' of the movie and found that none of them actually existed. What was also incredibly important for the movie's advertising, however, outside of simply being viral, was the people who helped encourage fans to watch the movie by giving it their seal of approval. Namely, Stephen King, who wrote the original source material for IT and was a well-known and highly respected individual when it comes to Horror.

So, it might be beneficial to base the movie off of a property - or at least have someone working with the production closely vouch for it's quality.

All in all - there is a lot that can be learned to make a movie a marketing sensation, and IT does them all very well. Hopefully, I can mimic tactics like these in my own movie!