Set Design #2

After talking about the "Ben writing the letter" scene, I decided that I want to discuss the "crime scene" scene. Wow... that sounds weird. "Crime scene scene." Anyway... like I said in my previous blog post about choosing a location, my group and I decided to film this scene at our local park. We chose this because we thought that at night, it gives a creepy, eerie feeling. 

We found a spot in the park next to a lake. Throughout the whole time we were filming, I was a little nervous considering we were next to a lake at nighttime. I was really hoping this wouldn't turn into a real crime scene. During one of the clips we had to film, I practically had one foot ready for an alligator to eat. 

As you can we had to be creative when filming certain scenes!! Anyway, once we found our spot, we made it look more like a crime scene by putting caution tape, evidence markers, and tracing a "dead" body. I will talk more about this in my next blog post, but let's just say it was a struggle...

Before:

After:

Set Design #1

 In order to make my visions come to life, I had to create/design the set for a specific part of the film. The part I am talking about is the scene where Ben is writing the letter to Mr. Travers. My group and I wanted to create a set that looked like it could occur in a house, but still giving that "office vibe." 

We decided to film this scene at my house because the kitchen table I have is white and it kind of looks like it could be a desk. My mom is actually the one that gave us almost all of the props... thanks mom!! She found a bunch of empty files, pencils, headphones, a mug, a stapler, hole puncher, and paper. Omer and I then scattered all of the props throughout the table so that it could make it look more like Ben was in a rush and it caused chaos. 

Before:

  

After:

With set design being an important factor in films, my group and I really wanted to create the set that matched our visions. I think that we successfully completed that task. Especially because we did not purchase any props for this scene, and we just used what we already had. This definitely saved time and money!!

Choosing a Title

 Hey Cambridge!! This week's blog posts are going to be fun! Today, we are going to talk about the title for my film opening. It was a little hard choosing the most suitable one, but we have come to a conclusion. I mentioned the name, "Mendacious" in my blog post from last week, but today my goal is to go further into depth to overall explain why my group and I chose this title, as well as the other titles that we were considering.

Why? 

The reason why we decided on this specific title, is because mendacious means not telling the truth, or lying. We wanted to make the title is something that had significance to what our plot REALLY meant. Omer was interested in naming our opening something that was one word. As soon as she said that, I agreed because I believe that films titled with one word are often cool-looking (...If that makes sense...). Also, the word "mendacious" foreshadows the plot of the film. It does this because later on in the movie, the audience would find out that Ben was lying all along.

Options that were considered:

-More Than a Witness

-On the Run

-The Hidden Truth

All of these are title options that my group and I were considering. We thought of these titles before we found out that they were already used in a movie. I know that doesn't necessarily mean that we can't use that title, but my group and I wanted something a little more original. Overall, we preferred "Mendacious" more. 

Script

After thinking long and hard, my group and I finally decided on a title!!! 

Drum roll please.........  "Mendacious"

I am going to go further into depth into why we chose this specific title in next week's blog post, so stay tuned to learn all the details!!

Now, let's take a look at the script. Keep in mind, our film has no dialogue, so everything that is written, is actions.

Planning the Audio

Audio is important when creating a film. Whether it is sound effects or music, audio can change the audience's emotions and feeling when watching a scene. Today we are going to be discussing the audio within our film opening.

Foley Resource

Foleys are sound effects made for films; except they are manually made. For example, if there is a scene of someone stepping on a stick, a foley artist can break a piece of celery to make it sound loud and noticeable. 

The noises that we are going to create foleys for are:

-chalk

-footsteps

-door

-wind

-crumbling paper

-throwing paper in trash

Here is a video that better explain foleys and gives some examples of how to create your own:

How To Make Your Own Foley

Diegetic Resource

Diegetic sounds are sounds that are made by objects or elements within the scene itself. For example, dialogue between characters. This is dietetic because it is actually happening in the narrative world. 

Diegetic noises we will include are:

-all of the foleys

-sirens from police car

Nondiegetic Resource

Nondiegetic sounds are sounds that aren't actually heard in the narrative world. For example, music. Now, I am not talking about a character pressing "play" on a boom box and music playing. I am talking about if there is a montage of a character, and a song is playing in the background.

Nondiegetic noises we will include are:

-a song 

I am not going to lie, picking a song to use in our film opening has been hard. We have tried contacting two people. For the first song, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin," we contacted the singer Nancy Sinatra, and we got no response... it's okay though because we were going to use that song for a whole different plot idea so it would not really work out anymore anyways... I guess. The second person is someone who we were going to contact, but then we found out he is...ummm...dead. His name is Vangelis, and the song is La Petite Fille De La Mer. 

We still have to find a song to use because those two did not end up working. I think that instead of contacting an artist to get permission to use their song, we are just going to use a copyright-free song instead because that will probably save us some time and be easier.

Set + Lighting

 A crucial step in the planning process of our film opening, is finding a suitable location to film. It was a little difficult figuring out a location, but I think we have narrowed it down to the best and most suitable option. 

Along with set, lighting is a crucial step in the planning process. If the lighting on set does not match what is happening in the film, then nothing makes sense. For example, if there is a horror movie with high key lighting, then the audience will be less scared as they would be with low key lighting. This is what makes it so important. 

For our film opening, we knew as soon as we came up with the plot, that we wanted to pursue lowkey lighting. My group and I felt that it was the best choice.

Let's talk about the set/location options for the crime scene:

Town Center

The first location that my group and I thought of was this area local to us. Although it is very lively, we thought that if we went at night, we could set up our crime scene where there weren't a lot of people. We came to the conclusion that this wouldn't be the best spot because of how lively it is. This doesn't suit the creepy, lonely vibe we were going for.

Alley

The second location that was brought up was an alleyway right next to my local movie theater. We almost ended up going with this location but ultimately chose not to just because we wanted to go with a setting that looked like it would be next to someone's house. 

Park

The last and final option (the one we ended up going with), is a local park that has a good amount of sidewalk where we could set up the crime scene. Because we are filming this at night, it will look less peaceful, and more creepy. I believe that this was the best option considering our visions for the opening.

Let's talk about the lighting options for the crime scene:

Like I mentioned before, we are going to be using low-key lighting to illustrate a creepy environment. Because we are filming at night, we are using our phone flashlights, and a small ring light to provide some sort of lighting. My group and I were a little hesitant to film at night because it is a little tough to provide well enough lighting, but because we are recording a crime scene, we felt it was best to record at night time.

Costume + Props

We're getting to the fun stuff! It's time to talk more in detail about what our characters are going to be looking like. Costuming and props are very important when introducing a character. Different costuming and props can say a lot about who that individual is and what is to come later on in the film. 

Ben 

Costuming: For Ben's costuming, he is going to be wearing a casual outfit. Either jeans and a t-shirt, or pants and a sweatshirt. The goal is to make him look like an ordinary, innocent guy.

Props: Ben's props consist of paper, a pen, and a bag.

Mr. Travers

Costuming: Mr. Travers is going to be wearing khaki pants with a buttoned top. The goal is to make him look like a detective, without doing the stereotypical detective costume (hat with coat).

Props: Mr. Travers is going to have a police/detective badge, a walkie talkie, and police-like items in his pocket or near him.                   

The badge ------------>

Crime scene investigators

Costuming: The CSIs costumes are going to consist of a white hazmat suit, a face mask, gloves, and maybe goggles. 

An example  --------->

Props: They are going to have white chalk to outline where the dead body was. There will be other props that the CSI are going to interact with, but they are more "setting props," rather than "character props."

Character Development

New week means new blog posts! For today's post, I am going to give you the breakdown on how my group and I developed the characters for our film opening. I am also going to show you a glimpse into who these characters really are.

Naming

When naming our characters, my group (Camila and Omer) and I wanted to do some research to make sure we would choose suitable names. We decided on naming the main character, Ben. This name is said to be strong, yet charming. This plays into how Ben is charming towards some but not to all. Moving onto the drug dealers... Omer searched up commonly used names for drug dealers and two that caught her eye were Ivan and Maverick. The last main character in our film is Mr. Travers. If I am being so very honest, I had nothing to do with choosing this name, but as soon as my group members told me it, I thought it was perfect! Something about the name "Travers" just sounds so "detective." Omer actually got this name idea from the author, Pamela Lyndon Travers.

I often find mood boards to be very helpful because they give off the basic understanding of a specific character. I created a mood board for each of the main characters!!! 

(Also, keep in mind that these mood boards are more the "vibe" of the characters, rather than the costuming because my group and I still have to discuss the specifics.)

Ben

Ivan & Maverick

Mr. Travers

Storyboard

Now that the plot has been discussed, it is time to visualize how the actual story is going to be played out. To do this, my group and I have created a storyboard. Storyboards are often used to plan out a film. Not only do they give you an idea of what the film will look like, they can also be helpful when actually filming a project. For example, when recording a movie, it can become overwhelming. You may forget particular things like the specific shots and angles you wanted to use. If a storyboard was made before filming, you can look back on it and see what you were originally thinking for that part of the film. You don't NEED to do everything that is on your storyboard, but it definitely helps give an idea!!

Here is the storyboard that my group created:

 

Project Idea

Now that I have decided on a genre, it's time to talk about the plot. Because I am working in a group for this project, my group members and I had to come up with an idea that we all agree on. It took some time, but I think we have come to the conclusion...

Plot

Ben is on his way home, when he notices two men, Ivan and Maverick. These two guys then approach Ben demanding money from him and making threats. They claim that Ben has purchased drugs from them in the past, and he owes them tons of money. Ben then proceeds to explain that they have the wrong guy. Ivan and Maverick don't believe him, leading Ben to be held at gun point. Maverick is holding Ben by the shoulders, and as soon as Ivan pulls the trigger, Ben makes a slight move resulting in Maverick being shot. The death of Maverick provides an emotional impact on Ivan, giving Ben time to run away.

 When Ben arrives at his house, he realizes that Ivan will be on a mission to find him, leaving Ben with no choice but to leave. Knowing he needs help, he writes a letter explaining everything and turns it in to a detective, Mr. Travers. Travers agrees to help Ben, and they work together to track down Ivan, put him in jail, and ensure that Ben is safe. As they learn more about the case, they uncover scary truths. For example, the person that Ivan and Maverick were looking for happens to be a dangerous serial killer. After thrilling discoveries, and intense chases, they finally catch Ivan and put him in jail. In the final moments of the movie, the audience discovers that Ben was the person that Ivan and Maverick were searching for making him the serial killer. 

Opening

The opening is going to begin with cross cutting between Ben writing the letter to Mr. Travers, and the police preparing the crime scene for investigation. This will go on for about a minute and twenty seconds, while the credits are being displayed on the screen. After, the title will appear, and the audience will see Ben turning the letter into Mr. Travers. The opening will end when the audience sees the detective's reaction to the letter. 

I will be going further into detail about the specific characters in my future blog posts so stay tuned!!!

Media Theory

Let's talk about media theory. Media theories are used to study the relationship between a people and the media. There is one specific media theory that I wish to incorporate into my portfolio project. It is called "Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium." 

Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium talks about many parts, but for today we are just going to talk about three. The three parts are called Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, and New Equilibrium. 

Equilibrium- The beginning of the story and the characters are introduced to the audience. The audience gets an idea of what the purpose of the film will be about. Everything is balanced in this part.

Disequilibrium- A disruption towards the protagonist's life occurs in this part, as well as other actions that come before the climax. When the protagonist realizes their life has been disrupted, they will often work to repair or fix the situation.

New Equilibrium- In this part, the protagonist usually resolves the situation. Sometimes, the disruption still occurs but it is usually for a good reason. 

I think incorporating this theory into my project would enhance the audience's perspective on the film in a positive way.

I also found a website that researched this particular theory within the "Moana" movie: 

Todorov's Narrative Theory Example

Group Meeting #1

<------ A picture of my group!

Hey blog!! For today's post, I am going to give a reflection of my group meeting. I met with four other students, and they shared with me their project ideas, as well as I shared mine. The main objective was to give and receive feedback to each other's portfolio visions, as well as feedback on their blogs.

The lighting I suggested:           

My group included my classmates, Daniela, Ayden, Madison and Milver. The first to share was Daniela. Her idea was about two people in a relationship and one of them killing the other. Our group gave her our input on how we thought she could execute it. I suggested using low-key lighting to create a creepy effect, as well as one of the other people in the group had mentioned to make sure to give the killer a creepy look. Daniela's blog was missing a few posts because she got the dates for the postings mixed up. I suggested that she should make a schedule so she stays on track.

The next person to share was Ayden. I felt her idea was unique and well thought out. It is a coming of age film mixed with magical elements, inspired by Greek mythology. The plot revolves around the three fates; Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos. What makes her opening so unique is that the fates would be in present time. They would be like any other person. I was interested in how she would relate these characters to "the fates." She said that their personality and clothing would represent who they are. For example, she said that Lachesis would be wearing jeans and a band t-shirt because she is the "past" fate. The fate's names would be more "normal." For example, Ayden said Clotho's name would be something like Chloe. After seeing Ayden's blog, I suggested dedicating more time to writing her posts, just because they seemed to lack certain information.

Next up was Madison. It seemed like she had a vision, but was missing a few points on the plot. She did share that her group had come up with parts of the opening, but not the entire idea for the film. I told her that once she thinks of the entire plot, the opening should easily flow. Her idea was to begin the film with someone on the phone inside of a car. It was supposed to sound like that person is talking to someone that they are in a relationship with. Then, someone joins them in the car making it sound like the original person is cheating. One of the group members had asked Madison if she had come up with ideas for costuming. She said yes, and the "vibe" is a punk aesthetic. The characters would have dark clothing on and most likely tattoos.

I told the group about my project next, and gave them a run through of my blog posts. They said that they were interested in my idea for the plot of my film. Because I didn't have clear understanding of the opening myself, I could tell that it made my group members confused...oops!! Madison suggested for me to think for a way to make my vision "come to life" so that the opening is successful. 

Last to share was Milver... he was the member of the group who had the least amount of work done. He shared his idea of the opening being somewhere along the lines of a crime scene board. When we had asked to see his blog, he said that he doesn't have one. That was a little rough to hear. The group gave him a lot of input on how he can achieve his vision.

Overall, I really enjoyed doing this assignment because I got to interact with others, receive feedback on my project, and give feedback to others!! I felt like doing this really helped, and gave me some ideas in which I could use for my opening and blog posts.

 

Formatting/Order of Credits

For today's blog post, I was told to write about something of my choice. I have come to the conclusion of talking about the format of credits in an opening. Like I talked about in a previous blog post, the credit sequence within a film opening is one of the most important parts. It shows who was behind the making of that film. 

My film opening must include:

-Producer

-Director

-Writer

-Cinematographer

-Editor

-Major actors

-Music by ____

Something else that MUST be included in a film opening is the title. You would think that's an obvious, but I have been told it has happened before where the title was left out of the opening for a movie. I mean, who does that?? Like did you really do all that work just to leave out the name of the film?! Awkward...

Anyway, moving onto the actual order of a credit sequence, it all kind of depends on the genre. Because the genre of my film is mystery, I looked back at the "Credit Sequences Within Genre" blog post I had made. In doing so, I saw that all three of the films I had researched began with giving credit to the major actors. In "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Gone Girl," the title was shown in the beginning of the opening. On the other hand, in "A Simple Favor," the title was shown at the end. This gives me the idea that the title can really go anywhere throughout the opening, as long as it "flows." For the rest of the credits, they all vary. 

 Reacting to Openings

I thought this video was really helpful because they watch four movie openings and talk about what they thought was well done, and what could have been improved. This video gave me some ideas!

I also took some notes in class of what needs to be included in our title sequence:

Portfolio Schedule

Me being a huge procrastinator is something that frightens me when moving forward with the Cambridge Final Project. To avoid this happening, I am going to create a timeline to stay on track and make all of my visions come true. Before making the timeline, I wanted to do some research to ensure that I included everything needed in order to be successful.

Here is a website that seemed to help me when making this schedule: creating a timeline

Timeline

Week 1 (2/3-2/9)

-Research within genre

-Plan the film opening plot 

Week 2 (2/10-2/16)

-Group meeting + finish planning

-Create storyboard

-Find actors + locations

-Set filming days

-Possibly begin filming

Week 3 (2/17-2/23)

-Film all footage + finish

-If needed: record voiceover + foley

-Possibly begin editing

Week 4 (2/24-3/2)

-Edit all footage + finish

-Edit in another type of style

-Choose better one

Week 5 (3/3-3/9)

-Research for CCR

-Answer CCR questions

Week 6 (3/10-3/16)

-Answer CCR questions

-Complete any remaining blog posts

Week 7 (3/17-3/25)

-Make sure everything is completed

With this, I hope to achieve all of my tasks within the portfolio final project to my liking, as well as on time. I really do think that this timeline will lead me to achieving my goals.

Credit Sequences Within Genre

 Credit sequences play a huge roll in film openings. It is important to give credit to those who are an important factor for the movie. In order to get ideas for my group and I's credit sequence I watched 3 films. Research is really important when creating something like this!!

A Simple Favor  Credit Sequence

The credit sequence within this film opening begins with the production company being shown. It then shows a slideshow of a variety of pictures like brownies, shoes, alcohol, and more. While these images are shown, the major actors/actresses are illustrated on screen. I like how not to much information is shown within this film opening because it gets the viewer to really focus on the most important part, the people behind the film. Without these people, the film would never happen!!

Gone Girl  Credit Sequence

This specific credit sequence is one that I really liked. It begins with the credits for the production companies. It then straight away provides a voice over of a man talking. Right after a short clip is shown of a woman, a black screen is illustrated. On this screen, the credits begin. The major actor's names are shown, and then the title. Throughout the rest of this opening, a small text is provided of all the other actors and other important people like the costume designer, the music artist, the film editor, and so much more. I really liked this credit sequence because it gave credit to those who played a role in creating the film, while also leaving the opening a mystery.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo  Credit Sequence

This credit sequence automatically uses strong, loud music. This along with the images provided give off almost a scary feeling yet still providing a mystery. The credits are shown on the screen giving out the names of the major actors, set and costume designers, producers, and other important people who played a role in creating this film. This credit sequence showed many graphic images which tie into the mystery genre because it has me questioning, why such harsh images? Why is there only dark colors? 

Film Openings Within Genre

 For the film opening project, (after thinking long and hard) my group and I have come to the conclusion for our genre. Drum role please... Mystery! Well, it is technically a sub-genre of mystery and crime. In order to really understand this genre, research is a key factor to being successful. To do this, I researched three film openings within the mystery genre.

Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl's film opening begins with a woman lying in bed. Right from the bat, there is a creepy feeling. The music adds to that, as well as the low point lighting. Then, while the credit sequence is being illustrated in the bottom left corner, a town is being shown through multiple angles. When the credits are completed, a character is introduced. Then, a small text is shown "July 5th" "The Morning of" These words add to the mystery. The  morning of what? Why do they show this date? What is going to happen next? In my film opening, I hope to have the audience asking questions like this because it adds to the mystery. Overall, this film opening provides the audience with a true mystery.

The Weekend Away (2022)

This film opening begins with the sound of water seconds before what seems to be a dead body floating in the ocean is shown. This very scene has me very intrigued because of what a mystery it is. It definitely makes me want to keep watching to see what led to that point. The title of the movie is then shown along with somber music which adds to the creepiness of this particular mystery. As the credit sequence begins what is later on said to be Croatia is shown in its full beauty. This adds to the mysterious vibe because it really made me think, what so terrible can happen in this calm, beautiful place?

Woman of The Hour (2024)

This film begins with a calm windy sound. It then shows the setting taking place on beautiful mountains. "Wyoming, 1977" is then shown to dedicate the exact state and year. This made me wonder why? Why did they show this? Is this going to be an important factor later on? As the opening progresses, a man is shown photographing a woman. As the woman talks to the man, she is letting out personal information like, how she recently went through a breakup. The man creeps up closer... then as the lady thinks he is comforting her, he chokes her. We then see her "dying." I thought that was the end but then he gave her mouth to mouth?? Why did he do this? Is he trying to torture her? What does he have against her? This opening was left as a mystery to me and I genuinely wanted to keep watching. 

Overall, I think watching other film openings within the mystery/crime genre helped me develop ideas, techniques, and things to look out for when creating my own. 

Film Genre Options

Picking a genre for my film opening is so hard... there are too many to choose from!! I have been going back and forth thinking; should I do horror, romance, action, comedy... I have narrowed it down to two options. Horror and drama. Although those are two completely different genres, I feel like I would be successful in making a film opening for either of those. The genre you choose for a film illustrates the target audience, marketing strategies, and expectations for the audience. Let's dive a little deeper to get a better understanding of what those genres really are!

Horror

Horror is often described as scary, deadly, and fearful. The primary goal when creating a horror film, is to keep the audience on the edge of their seat and scare them. The horror genre is filled with so many characteristics that make it, well... horror! In my opinion, mise-en-scene is the most important part of the horror genre. This includes costume design, lighting, formalism/realism, production design, set design, props, location.... the list goes on and on.  Mise-en-scene can change the whole look of a horror film or even just any film in general. For example, if a scary movie is just filled with everyone wearing pink sparkly outfits and they are in a location of Candyland, then the audience won't be too scared. In contrast, if the characters are wearing dark colors, and are put in low key lighting, then the audience might as well be terrified. 

An example of a horror movie that uses mise-en-scene correctly is "A Quiet Place: Day One." This film serves as a spin-off and prequel to "A Quiet Place." Throughout almost the entire film, low key lighting is used to create a scary effect, as well as the setting taking place in New York City. The way it goes from a busy, loud, lively city to a quiet, empty, lifeless city, adds to the plot and gives it more of a horror feel.

Drama

Drama is often described as serious, meaningful, and emotional. The drama genre often revolves around a character facing a big struggle. These films often dive deep into human emotions, relationships, and difficulties throughout life. 

An example of a film within the genre, drama, is "The Notebook." This movie is considered to be a romance drama. The plot revolves around two people who have love for each other but are not allowed to be together. This ties in the emotional, meaningful, and seriousness that is usually found in dramas. The end of The Notebook gives off a bitter-sweet feeling which is also often portrayed within drama films. Overall, the emotional storytelling, character conflicts, and feelings of love and loss tie into the the genre, drama.