Production Post

 

    My group and I continued our filming from where we last left off which was the outside scenes. When we were reviewing our footage of the outside scenes we didn't feel as though they were up to par. Because of this, we decided to film another day and dedicate it solely to filming the outside scene after the bar again. In addition to just filming, we changed a few things to make the setting and story fit in more with what we were trying to portray, and a horror movie. For example: one thing we changed was that instead of filming the scene of the main character drunkenly walking into the street next to houses, we went further into my neighborhood and filmed it on a street that led to the main road where there were also cars passing, adding to the realism. Also, the change in location was helpful because another knock we had on the previous takes was that it was too dark, and in the new location the lighting is much better, whilst also still maintaining the dimly lit, eerie, and dark vibe that is a characteristic of horror movies.

BTS of second day filming outside

    This video that is linked shows Arthur as he is filming me acting out the scene of the main character drunkenly wandering. But this isn't the take that we are going to use as we weren't convinced about the acting part and felt as though the trip was unrealistic, so we took another take and we were more pleased as a group all together.

Production Post

 Production Post Speaking on Props

    The main prop we used for the first day of filming, to film the bar scene was this empty bottle of Tequila that my parents had lying around. So, my group and I cleaned it, and filled it with apple juice as that was what we were using to recreate alcohol. In one of the shots in the scene, the bartender opens the bottle and pours the main character another drink, so the prop comes in very handy, and I think just adds and an extra hint of realism to the opening. Furthermore, we chose apple juice as it has a similar tint to a glass of whiskey, and especially with the lighting that the bar features, the golden brownness of the apple looks even more like that of a glass of whiskey on the rocks.

  

    The link shown features a funny fail from the shooting of the bar scene, where I (portraying the main character) try to take a sip out of the glass filled with apple juice (supposed to be whiskey) and a cube of ice somehow comes flowing out of the glass. Moments like these are nice because they provide a laugh break from the seriousness of filming and planning, and really make the whole process enjoyable. There were many more moments like this that took place during the first day of filming, this one is just my favorite.

funny fail from filming

Production Post

 The second part of filming day 1 (outside)

    The second part of our day 1 of filming was the process of trying to perfectly capture the scene of the main character drunkenly stumbling around while walking outside at night as he is trying to reach his home. This part of the filming process came with much more complications than the expected, and than the inside part of filming. For one, my dog could not stop barking at my group members, so I had to put him inside. And sprinklers were going off which slightly ruined the sound that was recorded with the video. Lastly, the overall look of the footage was not up to the par that we wanted, as the filming was too dark and the setting didn't perfectly represent what we wanted for the opening.

(Image of Arthur getting camera ready for outside shot)

    BTS of outside filming

    The link above shows the behind the scenes of Arthur filming me as we try to get on of our shots for the outside scene, but after reviewing all the footage and speaking to each other in class, we came to the conclusion as a group that all of the footage is too dark and we are going to need to refilm all of it, changing up the lighting and shots a little bit, and also shooting it a little bit further down the street where there is more light posts and less houses. 

Production Post

     Shooting the Bar Scene Inside 

Behind the Scenes

    The linked video demonstrates my group and I as we are inside of my house in the bar filming and planning on of our shots. The Bar scene is the first scene of our opening and is what sets the tone for the coloring and things of that nature, therefore a lot of trial and error went into getting the final result we deemed as sufficient. As there were struggles with finding the right angle to show enough of the bar so that the setting is set, but not so much that the audience can see the it isn't a full sized bar. Furthermore, what I really liked was that my concept changed of what I wanted the vision of the opening to be as my group gave me more ideas and shared what they saw, and vise versa. Because as we work together we can use the brain power of 3 people, rather than 1, to decide which shots, ideas, and choices best fit the end goal of the opening.

More BTS

    This first opportunity to shoot showed me how easy and fun it will be to continue, as the bar scene is just the beginning 30-40 seconds of the entire 2 minute film. I am looking forward to continuing to film much more than I thought I would.

Planning Post

 Planning for main character's costume:

    As stated in my previous posts, my group and I settled on the aesthetic, vibe, and style that we want our character to be and represent. That being a young, aspiring businessman that is currently working  a summer internship balancing college, work, and friends. The main character dresses well, choosing to fit into the business casual branch of clothing as he needs to represent himself as polished, put together, and professional. Given this, I had to put together the costume design of the main character as I will be playing him, this wasn't too difficult as I love fashion and moreover dressing up well, so I have a wide variety of clothes to choose from (except for a tie which I had to borrow from my dad). The business casual look relies on button up shirts, quarter zips, slacks, and things of that nature, so that is why I chose the clothes that I did (the image below).

    Furthermore, I also am going to wear my orange boat shoes (Sperry's) just to further fit the character that we want to be portrayed in the film. I don't believe that my shoes will be shown at all during the film, and if they do most likely it will be only for a split second. But, I want everything that we can control to be as good and fitting as possible to the story so that the opening can garner the most points.

Storyboard Post

     As one of my previous planning posts included my group and I's script, this post will include the story board that we worked together to come up with. This story board was created after the script so therefore some things may not perfectly line up with what I have previously posted, but that is just evidence of our project continuing to grow as we fix hiccups and add things. Furthermore scenes, angles, and other things from this storyboard are subject to change depending on what my group and I determine is fit or not.

Audio Post

     For the audio aspect of the opening, we want to spend most of our focus on finding and creating sinister, eerie sounds like loud booms for jump scares, maniacal baby laughs, and scary background music. In addition, we want to add a variety of foley sounds to make the audio aspect feel new and fresh, for example, walking, echoes, and laughs. We brainstormed these ideas so that the opening is more suspenseful and feels like a real high-quality production. The ideas for more foley sounds include, twigs snapping, leaves crunching, and wind. We want to place these sounds when the opening is most bland which will further create a sensation of what is to come. 

   

    My group and I conducted research on how it is that horror films use audio to build suspense, and most horror films use audio in sudden ways that are unforeseen and for ambient noise. These all together create the most important sense of a horror film that I feel like I have said 100 times, which is suspense, and moreover uneasiness. This uneasiness and discomfort is what leads to the feeling of fear, that is why it is so crucial to nail the aspect of the audio for the opening. Because if we want the opening to be eerie in the slightest, the sensation of suspense needs to be created.

Mise-en-scene Props and Lighting

    The props chosen by my group are a doll, a tie, and fake drinks (substituted with apple juice to look like alcoholic drinks). In addition, the doll we are buying is a plain and regular doll that we are planning to cut, scrape, paint, and mess up to look more eerie and like a conventional horror symbol. The tie will be taken off the main character in the bar during the scene, and later used to put around the doll's neck and hang it from a tree when it appears in the film to implement an element of horror and surprise. The main character will drink the apple juice and act out the effects of being drunk.

    Furthermore, the bar scene will be dimly lit and brown, so it can set the low tone that will continue on for the rest of the film's opening. After the bar scene, the set will change to that of the woods at night with the scary vibe of an empty dark forest. But, for the bar, we would prefer the color scheme to be dark brown and dim, this may be not easy to find within the town center but we will try our best as a group.

    Given this previous setting, the forest will similarly be dark and dimly lit as filming will take place at night. Forests at night are already scary, so the addition of the doll will play into the horror effect. The transition of the two scenes will also be smoother due to the fact that the colors go with each other.

Mise-en-scene and Set

     Through my group and I's discussions and conversations regarding our project, any ideas, critiques with given ideas, inspirations, etc. we have come to the conclusion that our two main sets are going to be a bar and a forest, the "forest" that we are planning to film at is less of a forest and more of a nature walkway with a river that is outlooking the Florida Everglades. We landed on this as our final option because the forest at night is very primitively eerie, and has an offsetting vibe. In addition to this, the implication of dolls as commonly feared symbols of horror. Our location will resemble the picture below. 

    As for the bar, it will be the first scene as the main character gets introduced to the audience, the bar is going to somewhat resemble the color of the forest at night (dark tones of black and brown). This paired with the drinks in the background will help us to set similar moods throughout the opening for the audience,

    Moreover, as stated before, our main character will be introduced to the audience as dressed in business casual attire and painted as an aspiring business man who is getting his education. He just got off of his summer internship at a big firm and copes with his stress by "letting off steam" and drinking.

Character Development Post

     Through my group and I's discussions about the character we landed on the conclusions that our main character is named James, he is a very stereotypical male as he is in a frat and studies finance, he is an inspiring businessman working an internship during summer, is a college student, single, and 21 (Born January 5th, 2004). This story takes place in 2025, when James walks into the bar (which is the setting of the first scene) he is dressed well (business casual) as if he just got off his shift at the firm. James has acquired a dependency on alcohol to escape his stressful schedule of simultaneously working, school, and friends, due to being newly 21 he spends nearly every night drinking alone at the bar.

Names: We landed on the name James as it is ranked the #1 most common name for American born males, and James is a very typical, regular young male.

Media Theory

     As my group and I were discussing the ideas, scripts, shots, and theories to be incorporated for the project, we came to the conclusion that the Semiotic Theory of Barthes best correlates with our story. This story speaks about how people portray meaning and emotion through signs and symbols. Roland Gerad Barthes is who came up with the theory and was a French literary theorist. The Semiotic Theory of Barthes is used very often throughout media as you interpret what mis-en-scene represents in the "bigger picture". Video on theory

The Shining (1980)

    The Shining is an example of a movie that uses the Semiotic Theory of Barthes as the phrase REDRUM that is present within the movie, is a sign that when is reversed reads MURDER, adding to the suspense. This symbol helps the audience understand the deeper horror beyond just what they see.

Halloween (1978) 

   Another example of a movie that uses the Semiotic Theory of Barthes is Halloween. Withing the movie, Michael Myers' mask is a sign. It hides his identity which makes him more terrifying because he seems less human. His silent movements also symbolize death itself which is something inevitable and unstoppable.