The project my group had presumed to film was a challenge to say the least. As everyone knows, there is an awful pandemic which has put a restrain on the amount of time we needed to film and the locations we could go to for the project to be completed. My group and I had seemed to find out later that the location we have been planning to use, had been closed. That was just one of the obstacles. We drove for several hours to try to find a new place we could possibly use to film in. It was also difficult to find a date and time which the group could be united and come together to form a well enough, structured film opening project. I still think the entire process was fun but adapting to the several changes was the main obstacles which we seemed to manage pretty well. The rest of the group was very cooperative and did the best that we could have done.

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In terms of the critical reflection, there are a few unanswered questions:

1) Rate on a scale of 1-10 how did your group work as a team. Support your rating.

For what we had and what we could only work with, I think we did the best we could and we put in the most amounts of effort that we could have possibly exerted which in my opinion, deserves a 10. We did what we were asked and were able to organize it, do it, and edit it which all the obstacles which were presented to us anyway.

2) Explain how you organized and prepared for the project. What went well and what could have been improved?

Finding a perfect time and day to gather all those who were a part of my group, had to have been the easiest part because the rest was a little complicated. Before all the nonsense with the current pandemic we are all facing, we had difficulty deciding what we wanted to do for our film, where we wanted to base it around, and who was going to do what. Once we discussed it over two class periods, we had it all sorted out and made our plan of how we wanted it to go about. The day we were filming, we figured out the hard way that our selected location had been closed due to the COVID-19 issue. We immediately had to brainstorm places near or places which had the same environment to film our project in so we were able to do what we had planned on doing. Once we then found a place, it was a smoother route from then on. We had our props, we had our scripts, and we adapted to the new location. The planning could have been improved, in the sense that we should have already implemented a plan B in case the first option did not come through but instead we managed to figure it out randomly. 

3) What difficulties did you encounter when FILMING? How did you overcome them? 

Back to the issue with the main, specific location we had in mind to begin with, the lighting had been something we didn’t have in mind. In the new location, there was much more natural lighting, it was difficult to get into, and it was not good enough for sound. We previously had the perfect setting where there would only be a slight amount of lighting, there would be enough space to create echoes when we spoke, and it was much bigger. But, we ended up adapting to the new property and found out the happy mediums we could work with to get a better production out of the whole thing. 

4)What difficulties did you face when EDITING?

Like I mentioned before, I was expecting to get this extra echo when the actors in the group were to be talking in the other location we had. The lighting and the space of the property was not what I had planned for. As a whole, it was going to shape how I edited the film opening and what needed to be added. In order to be a little more realistic and still scary, I chose not to do anything too drastic. I didn’t mess with the lighting or their voices, but I added in all the music and sound effects it was lacking to make it scary enough to fit the genre we had in mind. 

5) Discuss how you prepared for the AUDIO of your film? 

My camera I used to film with, had a microphone I plugged into the top so the audio coming from the group was clear and loud enough in terms of dialogue. When it came to the extra noises we were lacking, I added in suspenseful noises and sound effects to give it the feel where bad things are going to happen so the audience would be nervous, yet wanting to know why everything happened like it did.

6) If you were to REPEAT THE PROJECT AGAIN, what would you do differently? 

I don’t think I would do anything really different. I loved working with my own friends and filming something fun which we each loved working on. It wasn’t hard to film with anyone but the pandemic is the only thing that was not appreciated.

7) ANALYZING THE FINAL PRODUCTION, what aspects are you happy with? What could have been improved?

I am happy with what we did and the final product. We put in our maximum effort, we adapted very well with the circumstances we were faced with, and we still continued with the plan we always had in place for the making of this film opening project. I had a fun time looking through all the footage and things we did just to make this whole thing possible and I couldn’t have done it without the immense amount of help I received from my group. They cooperated with everything and did everything they were needed to do and I could not have produced or edited the project if it weren’t for their support and effort.

As a Director and Cinematographer for the film opening project, I was always trying to put myself in the shoes of an actual director. When I had an idea of how or where I wanted to film a shot, I wrote it down and pictured how I was expecting it to look like. I wanted to think of things to put or where I wanted it to be so that it would seem scary and raise suspense. This meant lots of trailers were binged and locations were researched heavily. Once I found the perfect spot I was looking for, it was the perfect place I decided to go to. I had a plan B location as well in case anything fell short just in case something were to get in the way. I then contemplated how I was going to film my shots and shortly realized I wanted to be as professional as I felt and used my actual camera instead of the one on my phone. This made the shots higher definition and smother of a look than it would have seemed. As I was picturing the important pieces I needed to be included, I brainstormed what kind of shots I wanted to do by making a story board and shot list. This helped tremendously during the actual filming process, which did end up coming out as well as I was expecting. I quickly learned how dedicated you need to be and how important the role really is as soon as I had to pick up my camera and be the one who gathers the right amount of clips to complete an entire project.

In terms of research, I had to do a lot of digging to find some kind of inspiration from other films to give me some idea of what I wanted to include in my film and the little trailer we were supposed to put together. The first video of reference was supposed to show how discovering places is scary and raw yet get the audience to want more. It was not a movie but it did give the same vibe that I was hoping to somewhat portray within the film opening I filmed. The second reference video was to show how I wanted to use that kind of suspense. The trailer showed silence in a wider spectrum considering it was targeting the world as a whole rather than just a town or something. I just wanted our film to be selective in the people who were going to be killed and leave the audience wondering why it happened to them. Lastly, I liked the aspect of having a character that was trusted which is then the one who betrays those they gained trust from. In Ma, the film shows how ‘Ma’ gains trust from these teenagers which she was actually targeting because of their parents and her past with them. She eventually betrays them and attempts to kill them but they managed to somehow escape in the end. I liked the horror aspect of it and the plot itself which brought me to bring some kind of little plot of my own which I would later include in the end of the year video project.

This is also a start to how I would want the scenes to look like for the different clips I will be shooting for the film project.

My group and I had sit down to create the shot list we intend to follow for the final project we need to film. This is so, as a director and cinematographer, I could follow this list generally to piece the film together.

In our horror/thriller film opening we are attempting to complete, we wanted to create a creepy sense to the plot. We finished creating a script which we might be using as just a template depending on how many times we will be editing how we will be going about the filming process of this project.

While deciding how or what we were going to include in the script for the actual film opening for the end of the year project, we had to jot down what we wanted to shoot and how we wanted everything to lay out overall.

The movie ‘Mamma Mia’ is a famous, award-winning musical known for it’s soundtrack and actors. The director and producer had made the decision that they were going to implement the songs by ABBA and chose actors with a big influence on filmmaking even today. The film featured actors like Meryl Streep who is known for the hundreds of other movies she has been featured in because of her skill to not only act as if it is easy but to sing as well. Pierce Brosnan is another person that is included as he is very well known for the famous James Bond films that he had filmed prior, bringing attention to his fan base. Actresses like Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters are also some other well known and respected women who they included in the movie’s success as their reputation for having done great in their previous forms of work.

The way in which the film includes a certain color scheme and setting that appeals to the storyline, is to go unnoticed and have a purpose to the storyline. The setting was in Greece, shown as a form of paradise. It was shot on boats and all around the island as it is to go with the background story of how Meryl Streep had come to the island prior and had her child, showing where she started her new life. The colors were all light and happy so that it goes with the tropical vibe the directors were trying to portray, along with the bright lighting showing that they are somewhere during the summer where things are usually always happy. The wardrobe was all the same through the women and even men. The men would wear collared dress shirts with a light color like white or blue, or one with a tropical like pattern. The women would typically be wearing light colored dresses or just bathing suits since they were always on the beach. Music is also something that is major to making a film to match with the purpose for the production of it. The music and sounds were all covers of ABBA songs that were not produced for the movie but already produced prior. The choice for using those sounds was to show the difference in moods and themes as the movie plot was moving along. When there was a struggle or bump on the road, they would use a song like “Winner takes it all” to show the difficulties the characters had come to. Then there were ones that would tell the story, like the first song “Honey honey” to give a sense of history to one of the characters. The purpose of addressing these noticeable qualities, is to show that there is a huge difference in these types of films when comparing them to other genres.

In contrast to thriller, there are some key elements which are completely different. For instance, the color, sound, lighting, and wardrobe are what is the main difference between a musical and a thriller I plan to film. As I film for this film opening project, I plan to do quite the opposite, like including suspense music or effects, dark lighting, and somewhat dark clothing depending on the storyline. If we incorporate something to do with murder or just with something traumatizing, we will plan with how we want a contrast in clothing. When something bad is going to happen, I will add background music that would create a slight fear or curiosity in the audience, so they know that what is occurring is scary but they also want to know what happens next. In the end, the sole purpose for this contrast was so that it could be clear that there are main differences between the different genres.

In filmmaking, narrative is something that is always taken into consideration. A narrative appears in all types of media, like plays, novels, comic books, TV shows, movies, and even commercials. It is the story that is trying to be told from the beginning to the end that uses a specific structure. It usually goes by introducing characters, brings light to their background to give a sense of direction the film or media should be heading towards, and ending with the outcome that the characters end up with. In terms of history, there has been a huge expansion of development towards the narrative strategies that they use as the films or forms of media have expanded in length and in technical options. The purpose for it is to develop a more complex characterization and even thematic concerns, which is mainly found to be in fiction films. They usually use tools like the codes and conventions which include ones like the music, lighting, camera movements, editing, color, and more. Narrative is the basis of producing any film, if you think about it. It decides the setting, the plot, the character developments, and themes or messages which they plan to set out for the specific audience it appeals to. Clearly, you can see how important it is to include a narrative in each form of media which is created.

Age is one the most important qualities that the producers of a product or project have to take into consideration. For the young kids, they think that they are under a category of immaturity, laziness, unfit, violent, gullible, careless, and moreover. The adults though, are seen to be grumpy, slow, weak, unhealthy, not too good with technology, not good of hearing, sometimes gullible as well, and more. This is more or less what they depend their directing or editing to be like so that they can appeal to a certain age group. Everything can be varied depending on the way they had been raised or something but this is generally what they are basing the decision to include certain slogans, colors, or products on. In the case of children, they include colors which catch their eye, cartoons, video games, and even slogans that have the kid wanting to go see the movie or buy the toy that is being advertised. For the adults, they know that they do not care so much about the ‘exciting’ portion of an advertisement. They aren’t seen to be as gullible as kids are so the only convincing they would need, would be including things like actors that they could have grown up watching or just know of to have them believe that movie is going to be good, or even products that only adults use like cars or perfume. They know that any younger child is not going to care enough to watch an advertisement about beauty or hygiene products in comparison to a new toy. This varies considering to the appeals of the certain kids or adults but stereotypically, this is kept in consideration.