Audio

 Audio/ audio production is the process of mixing recording and editing the audio for a final product. It also involves performance, recording and radio. Capturing material and selecting the best to make sure the sound is in high quality, then blending the recorded elements into 1 track and balancing volumes. And arranging is describing where to play instruments and elements to add shape to the song/recording.   

Character Development

 The sequences in the characters' rooms will be where we will build the characters. Each character's room could be depicted as either tidy and well-kept or as disorganized and cluttered. The attitudes of the characters could then be inferred from their rooms. For example, the person with the immaculate room might be the leader or make clear decisions, whereas the person with the messy room might be heartless.

        We may leverage their clothing choices in addition to their surroundings and dispositions to reveal more about their personalities. Unfolded clothing scattered over the room, for example, indicates that they are indifferent to their appearance. A tidy workspace would demonstrate their consideration for others' viewpoints. We could Additionally, utilize the lighting to convey the characters' desired perceptions of themselves. A room that is dark or has little light coming in could indicate that they are working on something that is taking too long and that they are unable to maintain their space properly. Giving the characters meaningful names is another option. For example, if we give them a religious name, they might be religious at the beginning of the movie.

Costume - Mise-en-scene

 Costume

Costume is one of the most important factors of  mise-en-scene. It also helps developed a character's personality. Costumes help convey characters by highlighting their inner thoughts and feelings. They can also help in telling a story. They create visual narratives supporting the film's message and environment. Costumes influence how viewers and audience perceive the nature of characters.

Many film costume designers work with the director to create designated outfits that suit the characters and their inner thoughts. They consider the style, theme, and how it would fit into the scene. 

Mise-en-scene (LIGHTING)

 LIGHTING

Lighting is a key part of mise-en-scene. Lighting created mood, atmosphere and visual texture. It shapes the subject, defines the character and can help develop the overall meaning of the media. There are 3 lighting techniques, three point lighting, lowkey lighting and high key lighting. It also depicts character and overall emotion. 

For example, in the Noir genre, high contrast colors are used. Most of these are explored/considered in pre production. The colors and light inform the theme and place of the film and characters of the film. It can also suggest character's state of mind and convey setting

Media Theory Research

 Framing

I would like to incorporate some Framing into my film opening. Here is my research on framing.

Framing is a media theory that explains how media presents information, and show how media highlights the perception of the world. 

There are multiple ways of framing a story. For example, a Pokemon battle could be framed as good and the evil, or as a story of 2 cartoon characters in conflict. The way every story is framed can have a significant impact on the audience's feeling/ view towards any media and how they understand it.

Framing is also widely used in political communication too. For example, a study may look into a different news outlets and how they perform/frame the same outlet for a better understanding.

Framing is a powerful tool that helps us and audiences shape the understanding of the world, and become critical consumers of media. 

Storyboard

 Storyboard

 scene 1: 10-15 seconds of the people entering the video game going to sleep

scene 2: 7-10 seconds of black screen to show closing eyes then 3-5 seconds of birds to signify it is now morning. Mixed with new noises from the video game world

scene 3: 10-15 seconds, opening eyes slowly to look around in confusion (or opening eyes slowly for a second but then opening them fast like the people are surprised and confused that they are not in their house)

scene 4: 20-30 seconds of the people interacting with the animals and starting to calm down now that it seems peaceful

scene 5: 10-15 seconds of the people noticing an animal and seeing that something is off about it.

scene 6: 10-15 seconds, it starts to rush animals that the people were watching and kills them

scene 7: 10-15 seconds as it looks at the people with blood on it, the people can see animals similar to it behind the animal.

scene 8: 5-10 seconds of the people get a message in the form of a quest or something of the like. It could say to survive a certain amount of time, or to eliminate all of the odd animals

Project

I've got some suggestions on how to make the horror element more intense after moving to the introduction of a video game horror movie. To make it even more terrifying, I believe we may pick a video game of a lighter genre rather than one in the horror genre. To heighten the fear, use something light, like bunnies. I believe we will see if we can accomplish it as a person imprisoned in a video game, as opposed to choosing whether it should be individuals locked in a video game or characters from video games entering the real world. We will have to have video game characters show up in the real world if we can't. 

This primarily hinges on our ability to make us in the video game world look realistic. As for the ending of the film opening, we could end it with a shot saying something like do this to leave. For the middle of the film opening, we could show us encountering a monster.

Group Meetings

In class today, we were told to have group meetings with our assigned group and group members. We had to help each other out by giving each of our group members ideas for our film opening. Our group members, Fatima, Julian, Me, Clemence, and Noah. Fatima- Drama, Me and Julian - Horror/Drama, and Noah will be doing horror/thriller.

Fatima, who's doing drama, is playing a depressed girl during the summer. She is super lonely and has suicidal thoughts. Clemence, psychological drama, is playing a person that's in a toxic relationship. The opening scene will show the abuse in the relationship. Then it will cut to the protagonist walking through the party and seeing her partner. When she sees him there will be flashbacks and then it will come back to the party and they will hug each other . All sets up the drama and context for the rest of the plot. Noah, who is doing horror/thriller, doesn't seem to have the plot decided yet. Me and Julian are doing maybe a thriller of an innocent person put to the death row has one last chance to clear their name, or a horror of some video game coming to life.

Overall, I think this group meeting was a good way of understanding/sharing each other's ideas. While we didn't have ideas yet, the group meeting helped us brainstorm different ideas, discuss and eventually come up with one. I look forward to having more group meetings in this class.

Left : Julian, Fatima

Middle : Noah

Right: Aneesh (Me), Clemence

Film Opening Schedule

 Before we start filming/editing anything, we have created a schedule for ourselves below.

Breakdown

Let's start with breaking down this assignment into it's major components.

1. Initial Research 
• Research of my chosen genres and film examples
• Researching plot and opening examples 
2. Planning
• Brainstorming and finalizing an idea
• Scrips
• Music downloading 
• Storyboarding
• Finding actors and roles
• Choosing location and date for filming.
3. Production
• Filming Scenes
• Adding Music/Sound Effects
• Trimming if needed
4. Editing
• Edit all footage at once
• Title and credits add
• Adjust some sounds 
5. Revisions
• Review current version of vid
• Make changes or corrections if necessary
6. Critical Creative Reflection
• Reasearch for the reflections
• Reflection
• Produce a CCR

Credit Sequences

Casino Royale 2006

This is a great example of using animation and graphics to create a really stylish and exciting credit sequence. It consists of a series of playing cards, guns, and other spy-related imagery set to a driving soundtrack. The opening credit sequence is available on YouTube

Watchmen 2009

This opening is a great example of how to use slow motion and historical imagery to create a dramatic and thought-provoking credit sequence. It features a series of iconic images from American history, all set to a haunting soundtrack. You can find the opening credit sequence on YouTube.

Drive (2011)

The beginning is a nice example of using music and atmosphere to create an awesome and stylish credit sequence: a series of shots of nighttime Los Angeles with a catchy synth-pop song blaring. One can find this opening credit on YouTube.

Drama - Three Film Openings Research

We are now into week 2 of our portfolio project!! We are going to be filming a drama thriller opening. Here are three film openings we have researched on based on the same genre, which are great examples of our genre drama thriller: 

The Social Network (2010)

This opening is a solid example of using dialogue to create conflict. It begins with a conversation between Mark and Erica. It is full of sexual tension.    

La La Land (2016)

The opening is a great example of how to use music and dancing to create a sense of atmostphere in audience and the film. It is full of catchy songs, and has vibrant colors in specific scenes.

Memento (2000)

 This opening is famous for its use of reverse chronology. The film is told in reverse order, so the opening scene is actually the end of the story. You can find the opening scene on YouTube.

Approaching Cambridge Portfolio

 Hello Everyone! From now on most of the posts will be on the Cambridge Portfolio Project. All posts from this point on will help me in traversing through different approaches/topics to bring out the best of my film. With that being said, me and our class were introduced to film openings, purpose, topic ideas, and approaches.

The approach I would consider the most is Mise-en-scene, as it mainly refers to everything happening online that contributes to visual storytelling. Mise-en-scene develops character and establishes mood and tone. It conveys the story only by using color, lighting and composition. It highlights what the characters wear and how they look, and react to the environment surrounding them. By carefully controlling what the audience sees and how its presented, I can make the audience curious therefore, making them want to know more.

Genre Choices/Research

GENRES

Hello! I would like my project to be on a Drama/Horror genre. I chose these genres as I am familiar with them and watched multiple films based on them. Horror typically deals with the unknown, the paranormal, and the darker sides of humanity. Any audience that engages with horror-related content is intended to be disturbed, frightened, or frightened. Both the genres provide suspense, keeping the audience engaged and willing to know what will happen next. 

HORROR :

Horror films tend to evoke fear and suspense in audiences. Most of them feature dark themes such as violence, death, and unknown. Sudden silences, unnerving sound effects, and sudden silences can create a sense of unease and tension. Horror films also feature visuals containing shadows, distorted images/objects, and/blood. Audience mainly watch horror to confront their fears, or for distraction. 

In Smile 2, the movie plays a trick on your mind by blurring the lines between what's real and your imagination and jump scares like awkward silence then a monster like creature appearing closely on the screen when least excpected. The main protagonist, Skye Riley experiences hallucinations too. The film builds tension, then delivers scares that catches the audience off guard.

Still from Smile 2 (2024)

DRAMA: 

Drama genre mainly emphasizes on human relationships, emotional depth, and conflict. Most films mainly feature the connections between people, family, love, friendship and how they change overtime. They also contain life lessons/themes about the connections between people too. 

Still from La La Land (2016)

In La La Land, the film is a romantic relation ship between two protagonists, exploring joys, dreams, and challenges. They are passionate and journey driven. It also incorporates themes such as sacrifices of love and pursuit of dreams.