One last change

Nick and I have changed our idea many times. We thought we had the perfect idea and I talked about in one of my last post. But after the group meeting everyone including the teacher said we were trying to do too much in a little amount of time. Nicks group also gave him feedback and said that we should change around the idea. So we sat down and brainstormed ways too change the idea and make it shorter but we couldn't find a way to do it and for it to still be good. So we decided to start over and create a whole new idea. After a million bad ideas, we finnaly thought of a good one that is short enough to not overwhelm the audience but also intresting enough for them to want to keep watching the film.

Our film opening is going to look like an action movie. It's going to have all the elements of one such as the the music and the filter. We want people to believe it is going to be an average action movie with drugs and guns like every action movie has. During the film opening it is going to show the two main characters getting ready for their mission. After they are finished preparing for their mission their is going to be a scene of them in an elevator. It is gong to be a two shot of them next to each other in slow motion and a low angle to make them see powerful. But our movie is a comedy so their is going to be a plot twist. We are going to add several comedic elements. One of them is while their is a slow motion scene of the two men, a lady is going to walk in and their going to try to close the elevator while she's trying to get in but she's going to be in and then their is going to be another slow motion shot of the woman and the men in slow motion. We are also going to add other several comedic scene so it is obvious it is a comedy and not an action. 

We are so sure of this idea that we began filming for it. We only filmed a small part of the beginning with a table of drugs and guns. In this scene the two men are getting ready for their mission. We used several low angles of the men and the table to make them seem more powerful. We also used a green filter like in the matrix. We are trying to use as least words as possible because the two men are my friends so they are not the best actors. We are going to depend more on individual movement and sound elements. Here is a  picture I from our shooting.

Actors

Actors are important in films because movie characters are the vehicles for storytelling in films. Actors use a variety of acting methods to create a real performance in a fictional circumstance. Actors have to become and feel the character or else what they are portraying won't be believable. This is why casting is so important. Casting helps choose the right actors in your film in order to bring you story alive. Casting is a hard job because not only do you have to pick a good actor, but that actor also has to look like the person you have in mind. Like in our film we are going to show our character as time passes so we have to find actors that look similar so our story is believable. While casting you also have to look for actors who fit the characters personality, so when they act it is more real and believable.

Unfortunately we do not have the money to hire a castor and actors. We were given an idea to find actors. We were told that we should go to the drama room and ask the kids if they want to help us in our movie opening. The only problem with that is that the kids are probably not going to want to help us because that would require them to take time out of their day and meet up with us in order to film. The only way they would probably help us is if we paid them but neither Nick or I are going to do that. So we decided to go with plan B and just use people we know. We needed to find three people who look the same to show our main character as time passes.So I contacted three of my cousins who look similar to play these roles. I also contacted some of my friends to be extras. I hope that they are decent actors and make our film look believable.

I am glad that we chose a dark comedy because we do not have to depend on actors as much as if we would off chosen a drama. It depends more on the script and the comedic elements. We are planning to begin filming this week. The only reason why we have taken so long is because my cousins have been out of town ever since spring break began. I hope we get all the shots we need when we film so we can spend more time editing and making the film look better.

Bibliography:

Nirutnapapan, S. (2016, March 08). Importance of Casting in Film. Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-casting-film-soracha-nirutnapapan/

Dialogue

Dialogue has been around since the beginning of film, even in old silent films with title cards. It is important because it explains the plot, creates character development, and allows the audience to have form a bond with the characters. It also helps the plot move forward. But writing realistic and effective dialogue can be very hard. Dialogue has to sound clever and unique or the audience will get bored. I looked up some examples in order to get inspiration for my dialogue and found a great article called: elements of cinema. They showed me a great example from the movie The Exorcist, when the priest was asked if he wanted tea, instead of saying yes or no, he replies with "Well, my doctor says I shouldn't. But thank God my will is weak. " In this sentence he says yes and no which makes the dialogue more interesting then just saying a one word answer.

We are making a dark comedy, so we have to rely on dialogue like most comedy do. We need to make the audience laugh but that is something that can be hard to do. It is hard because comic dialogue has to keep up with the characters personality. I also have to create the right situation in which the character says it. An example of comedic dialogue is in Thelma and Louise when Thelma says, "Daryl doesn't have a cute butt like that. You could park a car in the shadow of his ass." These remarks are not only funny but they also foreshadow the affair that is going to happen later in the movie.

I already have some idea of the dialogue I am going to incorporate. I just hope that the audience has my same sense of humor and laughs at the jokes and their isn't any awkward silences. Another problem that I am worried about is the camera. In all the examples I've seen the groups always have great cameras that make the film look professional. But neither Nick and I have a good camera, all we have is our phones. I do not want to use a phone because when films are shot with a phone it usually makes the film look very bad, even if the idea is good. I do not have the money to buy one So I am just going to see of my friends have one and ask them to borrow it.

Bibliography:
Dialogue. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2018, from http://www.elementsofcinema.com/screenwriting/dialogue.htm

Props and stage design

Props are an item used on screen or stage to help enhance a performance. Props are most commonly used in conveying the time and place the narrative is set. Props are one of the only indicators of what period of time the film takes place in. According to an article called: The importance of props in film, not only do props help the audience understand the narrative, they also help actors get a feel of their role. For example, an actor will find getting into their native american role easier if they are dressed similar and and holding weapons and tools from that time period. Props can also make a character instantly recognizable. A good example of this is Indiana Jones hat and whip.

In our film we are planning on incorporating a couple of props. One prop we are going to use is a gun. Our main character is a criminal so it would make sense that he would have a gun. I also talked about wardrobe in a recent post and how we were planning on having our main character and his past selfs wear black so it can be clear to the audience that all these characters are the same person. But this article gave me a good idea that we should use a prop to show who the main character is. I am thinking of using something simple like glasses or a hat so it can be clear who the main character is. 

Another important aspect that we have to worry about is set design. The set helps create the tone, the era, and the overall vibe of each scene. If there is no background or stage design the story is harder to believe. We want to have several different set designs because several of our locations take place in doors. The one that is probably going to be the hardest to re create is a sort of dungeon where our main character is forced to work. But for this set, we are planning on using a garage and low key lightening. We can manipulate angles and lighting to make our sets look better thank they actually are.

Bibliography:

The importance of props in film. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://spurcreative.co.uk/the-importance-of-props-in-film/

Costume design

Costume design is extremely important in all movies. There is even a special team assigned to just working on costume design. Costume designers work closely with the director in order to match the directors vision. And it is not as easy at it seems. Costume designers have to do a lot of research in order to make the wardrobes which the actors wear. If the movie is in the past, they have to do research to see what people wore during that period of time and make sure they don't make any mistakes. They also have to make sure that the outfits balance the scheme with the texture and color. They also have to make sure the outfits match the socioeconomic status of the characters. Designers seek to enhance a characters personality with the outfits they wear. Not only this but there are also diffrent types of costumes designers such as freelance, residential, and academic.

In our film opening costume design is going to be very important. We have to make sure that our actors wear similar clothing because they are all suppose to be the same person. If they wear diffrent clothing the audience might not get that this is the same person but in diffrent stages of his life. I am thinking of having all 3 of my actors wear all black clothing. I picked black because I know that  all my actors can get an easy access to black wardrobe. Also because black represents the depression in the characters life. Like I said before it is important that the wardrobe balances the scheme with texture and color. Black matches with anything so this will make the process of balancing colors easier. I do not have to worry a lot about the period of time interfering with the outfits because our movie opening takes place in the present. But we do have to worry about socioeconomic status because our main character is poor so I have to make sure his clothes is ripped up and worn out.

I believe we will do a good job with our wardrobe because it is not complex. But I do have a problem  with our film. I have been telling several people like my friends and family about my idea and the scenes in our movie opening. I tell them because I like getting feedback and in order to know if I am on the right track. I always tell them to be extremely honest because I see it as constructive criticism instead of negative. One thing that several of them have told me is that they like the ideas but that we should switch up the scenes. Some of them tell me I should switch it up by showing more of the main characters life and others tell me that I should show less of his life and add more comedic scenes. Nick and I are not sure what we are going to do yet but we are going to meet up one of these days before we film and improve some of our scenes.

Bibliography:
Costume design. (2018, March 06). Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costume_design

Colors

Colors in films are not just coincidences or accidents. Film makers carefully make decisions about colors that affect the whole film, even if we do not realize it. One of the main reasons why color is so important is because they make the audience feel. I did not really understand the importance of colors until I did some research and found an article called: How color helps a movie tell its story. It showed me how some of my favorite movies use colors without me even realizing it. For example in the incredibles when Mr. Incredible works at his desk, the colors are grey and dulled to represent depression. I always wondered why that scene made me feel uncomfortable and now I realize it is all because of the color in the scene. Many times we do not realize how important colors are because they work on a subconscious level.

As I was researching about colors I found another article called: How to use color in films. This showed me that different colors have different psychological effects on the audience. For example red makes the audience think of love and passion while yellow shows madness and sickness.The article also showed me that their are three main components of color which are hue, saturation, and value. The article also showed me that it is important to balance the colors so it is pleasant in the viewers eye. But one of the most important things that the article showed me is that even a slight change in color can make the audience confused. For example if you are trying to show love but accidentally show pink, this can confuse the audience and make them think of playfulness.

Color is an extremely powerful tool that I want to use in my film. Lat week one of the members in my groups used color in his movie opening and it looked great. It looked very complex but when I asked him what he used he said it was just a light changing lightbulb. It amazed me that something so simple can make a film seem so powerful. This inspired me to want to use colors in my movie opening. A color that I will probably use in my film opening is pink because pink shows playfulness and since my film opening is a dark comedy I do not want the audience to take the jokes literally. I also have to be careful to not use the wrong colors because this can confuse the audience.

Bibliography:
How color helps a movie tell its story. (2017, April 06). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://ideas.ted.com/how-color-helps-a-movie-tell-its-story/

How to Use Color in Film: 50 Examples of Movie Color Palettes. (2018, March 06). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/

Group Meeting

Yesterday we met in groups for the first time. We were separated into groups with people who we are not doing our movie opening with and the purpose of this activity was to get feedback about your project and help other people with their projects. Before we did this I was very skeptical because I felt like this was not going to work and I was scared that someone might take my idea. But good thing that I was wrong because this activity was extremely helpful. Not only was I able to help others, but the feedback I received was also great and it will help make my movie opening even better. The only problem was that I was not able to explain my idea as well as I wanted too, so I do not think my group got what I was going for. But they were still very helpful and even gave me names of  some dark comedies that I should watch in order to get ideas for my movie opening. Nick also got some great feedback from his group that was very helpful.

Some feedback that Nick and I both got from our groups was that our idea was too long. We are trying to fit too much information and scenes into 2 minutes so we should shorten it. The point of a movie opening is too get the audience intrigued in your movie, not show them everything that is going to happen. My group told me that in order to fix this, I should cut out everything that is not important to the main plot of the movie opening. In our movie opening I have several scenes about the main characters life that are not important to the movie opening. We are going to remove many of these scenes in order to not add to much information too the movie opening. Since our movie opening is about our main characters past life, we were going to cut to him as he talks about the flashback and then cut to the flashback. But I realized that this is too time consuming so we are going to have to change this too.

One of the members in my group gave me a great idea. We were originally going to start of  the movie with our main character in a psychologists room and him being questioned about his life and then continuously cutting back to him. But like I said before this is very time consuming so he told me instead that the main character should just be asked a question like "tell me about your past life and what led to you being here today", and I should show all of the flashback at once instead of cutting back to our main character walking. And he also said to use a voiceover which I already researched how to do, so it should not be too complicated to do this. Another problem we got is that our film seemed too expensive because of all our props and locations. Because of this I researched and found an article called: How to make a short film with practically no budget!  The article talked about how all I really need is a computer, a digital camcorder and some kind of editing software. It also said that I do not need all these props and gadgets as long as my story is good. It also advised me that I should try to get some good actors in order too make my movie opening even better and not depend on money.

Bibliography: 
How to make a short film with practically no budget! (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.filmconnection.com/reference-library/film-entrepreneurs/short-film-no-budget/

Lighting

One thing I am worried about is the lighting. Lighting is something that is fundamental to all type of film. Not only is lighting important for for visibility, but it can also be used as an artistic tool. Lighting can be the most artistic portion of a film because there are no hard and fast rules, only guidelines. That is why I am scared to mess up on the lighting because not only can it make your film unprofessional but it can also confuse the audience. For example if you put low key lighting in a scene that requires high key lighting, it can mess up the message which you are trying to portray in your film. Not only lighting, but the color of the light is very important too. For example if you want to portray love or passion, then red lighting should be used so the audience can clearly understand what you are trying to represent.

In our film opening we want too use several different types of lighting. In one scene where the mom poisons her son we want their to be high key lighting so that the audience thinks that nothing bad is going to happen but then their is a big twist. In the scene where our character is in the woods we want to use low key lighting in order to build suspense. And for our scenes that take place inside a house we want to use three key lighting so it looks as professional as possible. The only problem is that we do not know how to create these lighting's , but I looked up an article called Lighting 101: A Quick Guide for Lighting Film. This article teaches us how to employ lighting designs and shows us new lighting that I have never seen before which we can use for our movie opening. 

Most of our film takes place outdoors, but we can not move the sun so I was wondering how we would make the lighting look good even though we are outside. I researched and found an article called : Tips to make your exterior lighting shine. The article showed me several ways how I can create my own lighting, such as using modifiers to shape light. Using these tips we should be good to film outside and create the lighting we want. Another problem that I have not found the solution to is about one of our scenes which requires a room full of guns. In this scene Our main character robs a gun store but gets stopped quickly. I researched but found nothing on how to create a gun room. We might have to just go to an actual gun shop and beg the workers to let us use it! 

Bibliography:
Hardy, R. (2014, October 28). Here Are a Few Simple Tips to Make Your Exterior Lighting Shine. Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://nofilmschool.com/2013/11/simple-tips-daytime-exterior-shine
    
Lighting 101: A Quick Guide for Lighting Film. (2016, September 13). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/basic-light-placements/

Cinematography. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from http://www.masteringfilm.com/set-lighting-fundamentals/

Location

Location scouting is a very important process in the pre production stage of filming. Once directors have decided what kind of scenery they need for their film, the location scout looks for suitable places where the film can take place. Today I did the job of a location scout as I was looking for suitable places to shoot our film opening. Although a real location scout goes to the places where they are planning to shoot, I do not have a car so I searched online for the places. We are planning on filming our movie opening in a variety of places because it is about different stages in our characters life, so obviously it can't all be in the same place. We are planning on filming on a sound stage with props and on location. On a previous post I talked about an article named Ways to Create Space When Filming in a Small Area , which will helps us set up the room in which we film. Now we just need to focus on the outside areas where we are going to film.

I researched some tips on how to successfully scout locations and I found an article named:11 tips for location scouting. The article gave some great tips such as know your script and scout at the right time. The only problem is that most of the tips have to do with me actually being there, but it was still a very helpful article. One of the scenes we have planned takes place in the woods so a place we have in mind where we can shoot this scene is in Markham park. We are also planning a plot twist so we need a place with a beautiful scenery so people do not expect the dark twist. For this scene I was planning on filming at Peace Mound Park which has many beautiful sites where we can film. We are very concerned about our location because we know that the location can effect the look of the entire film opening.

Nick and I have also decided that we want to have a narrator in order to make the movie opening easier to understand. We want want it to be a narration in I, where our main character tells the story of what the audience is seeing on screen. We are also doing a narration in order to save time because we only have two minutes, so we can not keep going back and forward to scenes of our main character talking. Our narration is going to sound professional because Nick has an actual microphone that we can talk in and we wont have to use a phone with a less quality built in microphone. We are also going to use window movie maker in order to add the voiceover into our film. All we have to do know is find someone with a great speaking voice!

Markham Park:

Peace Mound Park:


















Bibliography:
Squitin, L. (2011, May 08). Peace Mound Park. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lvs954/5699850656

Markham Park, Florida. (2016, March 14). Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://merrickmountainbikers.com/markham-park-florida

11 Tips for Location Scouting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.videomaker.com/article/c18/8946-11-tips-for-location-scouting

New York Film Academy. (2016, September 23). Ways to Create Space When Filming in a Small Area. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/ways-to-create-space-when-filming-in-a-small-area/

Storyboarding

Since Nick and I have decided on an idea and we are sure we are not going to change it, we have began to storyboard. A storyboard is a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a movie or television production. With a storyboard, we can visualize each scene in our film opening, also allowing the production phase to be smooth and quick. Storyboards will help us organize our shots so we already have an idea of shots and angles we want to shoot. This way the filming process will be quicker and easier and we can spend more time on editing and fixing our errors in order to make our film opening perfect. So far we have only created a few scenes in our storyboard and we will keep adding more scenes as we think of more ideas.

But yesterday as Nick and I were creating our storyboard we ran into a problem, neither of us can draw. We researched other ways to create storyboard without drawing and we found an article called:How to make great storyboards, even if you can’t draw. The article showed us new ways to create storyboards such as writing a proposed storyboard or making storyboards with an app. The only problem was that some of these apps cost money and we tried to write a proposed storyboard but we are both visual learners so we could not see what the other one was thinking. But then we realized that we do not have to turn the storyboard in, it is only a tool for us to use, so with the best of our ability we drew the storyboard and it did not come out half bad!

Nick and I have also not thought of a title yet. We tried to brainstorm of a few ideas but 
none of them were good enough. We want our title to stand out from every other film, in order to do this we have to think of a unique name or think of a clever phrase. A good title is important because they can make or break your film. Today people have millions of options on what movies they want to watch. A good title can make your film stand out from the rest and be chosen. Nick and I are going to keep thinking of title names until we get the perfect 
one!

Bibliography:

 Stephenheleker. "How to make great storyboards, even if you can't draw." Frame.io Blog. August 04, 2016. Accessed March 10, 2018. https://blog.frame.io/2016/01/28/how-to-make-great-storyboards-even-if-you-cant-draw/.

We made a slight change/Shooting Schedule!

Nick and I were able to meet in class today after not seeing each other for a couple of week. We have been unsure about the last idea we had about a man tied up escaping a room because it has been done many times before. And even though we were going to add our own elements to make it more unique, it is still very predictable. We want to create a piece that is original and has not been done before. So today we decided to throw that idea away and think of a new one. After spending almost an hour and a half brainstorming and arguing we finally got an idea. We want to make our movie opening  a dark comedy which shows the past of a man with several psychological problems. We have switched our ideas up many times but I believe we are going to stay with this one because this is the first idea which we both really like.

According to Dictionary.com a dark comedy is a movie which often has elements of comedy and tragedy, often including morbid satire. Although Dark Comedy's are not the most popular type of movies, from 1995 to 2018 they have brought in over a billion dollars in total box office revenue in North America.  I found a great article called: How to make a great dark comedy, according to the director of a great dark comedy. The article shows an interview with a director named Matt Spicer, who is a master at creating dark comedy's. During the interview Spicer gives several advice that I will use for my movie opening, such as you have to know when to hold back, because if you do not this can cause you to alienate the audience instead of making them laugh. Another element we are going to use during the film opening is a flashback. Flashbacks are a device used to reveal information about the character or to just move the story forward. We are deciding to use a flashback because we have a short amount of time, and this is a good way to reveal information about the character and show why he is the way he is.

Another important thing we did today was create our Shooting Schedule. A shooting schedule is important because it helps you break down all the elements of your film to determine how to distribute your money and to figure out how many days it will take you to shoot your film. We were not sure how to create a shooting schedule so we researched and found an article that helped us called: The art of scheduling  It showed us the steps we have to take in order to successfully schedule our movie opening. We decided that in the next 3 weeks before spring break we are going to prepare everything such as supplies and actors so that we can film during the week of spring break. Nick is going to get the supplies we need such as a camera and props and I am going to find the actors which are going to show our main character in different stages of his life. Then since me and Nick are not going anywhere during spring break, and I know most of the actors I am going to use are not going anywhere either, we are going to meet up everyday in order to get enough shots for our movie opening. We are then going to edit during class or whenever we have free time. I can not wait to start filming and make a legendary dark comedy!

Bibliography:
Dark comedy. (n.d.). Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/dark-comedy?s=t

Wilkinson, A. (2017, August 09). How to make a great dark comedy, according to the director of a great dark comedy. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/9/16107140/matt-spicer-interview-ingrid-goes-west-dark-comedy-aubrey-plaza-sundance

Movie genres by box office revenue in North America 2018 | Statistic. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/188658/movie-genres-in-north-america-by-box-office-revenue-since-1995/

"The Art of Scheduling a Film." Dummies. Accessed March 06, 2018. http://www.dummies.com/art-center/performing-arts/filmmaking/the-art-of-scheduling-a-film/.

Music

One of they key components in every thriller is the Music. Music can be used to create suspense, in a thriller music mostly indicates something is about to happen. The lack of music can also create suspense, because when their is no sound in a thriller it usually means something is about to jump out. The music typically used in thrillers is normally slow music which tends to build atmosphere. This atmospheric music is usually non diegetic, which  means that the sound is not in the characters world, so they can not hear it. This engages the audience because they now know something that the character doesn't. Diegetic sound is also important, which is the sound that does happen in the characters world and that they know off. Sound is critical,not just in thrillers but in every movie. Sound can make a movie be professional or it can ruin a movie, so we have to make sure our sound is on point.

Nick and I got very lucky because usually in order to get music or sounds that are not yours you have to go through several steps and have to be careful not to copyright or do anything illegal. But luckily, Nicks brother is a master at the piano and several other instruments, so he will be helping us in the music making process. This is a huge benefit because if we use someone else music, we will have to edit our scenes in order to fit our videos with the music. But now we can make our scenes however we want them and then fit the music into them, which will be an easier process. Nick and I were also thinking of playing a sinister sound throughout the music opening and then add a nursery rhyme such as "twinkle twinkle" in order to make the music sound distorted and add to the suspense. I believe this music will challenge the forms and norms of a thriller because nursery rhymes are not usually used in thrillers to create suspense.

Nick and I are also planning on making foley noises for any sound we need in our projects. We do not want to have any problems with copyrighting or doing anything illegal and because there are so many rules in order to download someone else noises, we believe that it will be easier to just make our own sounds. We have already had practice with foley noises in a past project so we know how to use them. I found a great article that teaches you how to create various  folly noises called The guide to sound effects. If we use and combine all these sound techniques, then our movie opening will sound great.

Bibliography:
he Guide To Sound Effects | Epic Sound. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epicsound.com/sfx/

We Finally have an Idea!

My partner Nick and I were able to meet on Friday and keep the brainstorming process going. We originally had three ideas that we thought off on Wednesday, but then we realized that we do not have the equipment or the locations to do any of them.  So we threw all these ideas away and decided to think of a new one that still falls under the thriller genre.  After many bad ideas we finally thought of a good one. We want to make our movie opening about a man who has been kidnapped and his attempt to escape before he is killed. I know this sounds very simple and has been done before many times, but we are going to add several techniques to our movie opening in order to make it different and better than the rest.

One technique we are using is a plot twist.  According to Definitions.Net, a plot twist is a change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film, novel, or other form of narration. The purpose of a plot twist is to introduce a radical change, which will cause an emotion in the audience. In our movie opening we want to play with the viewers feeling so they are unsure of what is going to happen next. Writing a good plot twist can be difficult so as I was researching how to write a  strong one, I came across a great article named:10 simple tricks for writing clever plot twists. One tip the article talked about that I believe is very important is to approach your story as a reader. While I am writing the plot twist I have to constantly put myself in the readers mind. If I see that theres a chance that the reader can foresee my plot twist, then they probably can and I need to change it. The article gave me many great tips that I will be using as I write my story.

One problem that might limit us while making the Movie opening is location. The location can be as important as the film itself. Finding an easily accessible location that fits in with your movie can be a challenge. I live in Weston, and one of the only accessible locations is Town Center, but that does not fit in with the movie opening idea we have in mind so it will not work. Our movie is mostly going to take place inside, so we will probably use a house, but we will need to use mise en scene elements in order to make the house look like we want it too. As I was researching, I found a great article called: Ways to create space when filming in a small area. The article showed which angles and colors to use in order to trick the mind into thinking there is more space. The article also talked about where to stand actors and how to use shadows to create space. I will use all these techniques and keep researching more in order to make my movie opening the best it can be.

Bibliography:

Robins, K., Bradshaw, C., & S, J. (2017, April 26). 10 Simple Tips For Writing Clever Plot Twists. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/10-simple-tips-writing-clever-plot-twists/

Translations for plot twist. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.definitions.net/definition/plot%20twist

Academy, N. Y. (2016, September 23). Ways to Create Space When Filming in a Small Area. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/ways-to-create-space-when-filming-in-a-small-area/

Hoffman, S. (2016, June 03). Choosing the right film location | AIDY Reviews... Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://aidyreviews.net/choosing-the-right-film-location/

Genre

On Wednesday my partner Nick and I were finally able to meet up in order to start thinking of ideas for our project. We thought of many ideas but narrowed it down to three.  We are not sure which of the three we are going to pick but we are sure of one thing, we want to do a thriller. According to Merriam Webster, a thriller is a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense. According too Statista, Thrillers have been the 4th most successful movie genre in North American between 1995-2018, bringing in more than 17 billion dollars in box office revenue. We are thinking of making a psychological thriller, which is a thriller narrative which emphasizes the unstable or disillusioned psychological states of its characters. According to John Davies, the usual target audience for this genre are females between the ages of 18-25, so that will most likely be our target audience.

According to a video by Lessons from Screenplay it said that in order to create suspense in a thriller there has to be 6 elements of suspense. These 6 elements are conflict, uncertainty, anticipation and prediction, emotional significance of anticipated events, lack of control, and temporal aspects. A movie opening that shows all of these elements is the film Inglorious Bastards. The movie opening creates suspense and shows the element of conflict when it shows people doing their daily duties and jobs ,but then the nazis are shown and stability is broken. We hope to create tension and suspense in the audience by using this 6 elements as well as Inglorious Bastards did.

Another thing that Nick and I decided on is that we only want 1 or 2 main characters. According to standout books, fewer more complex characters are better than many characters. When there are less characters it allows the audience to become closer with these characters and build a caring connection with them. Some very good and successful movies have been made with few characters such as 127 hours and Gravity. I can not wait to pick our idea and begin the movie making process!

Bibliography:
Movie genres by box office revenue in North America 2018 | Statistic. Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/188658/movie-genres-in-north-america-by-box-office-revenue-since-1995/

Thriller. (n.d.). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thriller

Wood, R. (2016, September 21). How Many Characters Should A Novel Have? Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.standoutbooks.com/how-many-characters-should-a-novel-have/

Psychological thriller. (2018, March 02). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller

G. (2016, December 13). Thriller GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://giphy.com/gifs/thriller-Upy6jfjxvFdkI

JoeCFCDavies Follow. (2013, October 20). Who Watches Thrillers? Retrieved March 03, 2018, from 
https://www.slideshare.net/JoeCFCDavies/who-watches-thrillers

Inglourious Basterds - The Elements of Suspense. (2017, March 14). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvtOY0YrF-g