Movie Conventions Blog: Gemini Man- Seeing Double

     Hi there and Happy Valentine's Day! As you might have expected, today was time for us to take a more in-depth look into our genre, science-fiction thriller. Being that this genre is so vast and nuanced, my teammates and I have decided to thoroughly examine three films from the grouping of our choice, in order to ensure we would not be overwhelmed by the thousands of movies out there. With that being said, our first film of choice was director Ang Lee's 2019 film, "Gemini Man," starring the well-known Will Smith. 

To break down this film and see how it applies to the aforementioned genre, we'll need to analyze its use of various aspects which I have outlined below:

Camera Angles, Movement, and Shots:

    To begin with, all of the camera shots, angles, and movements used within the film did fall in line with the typical conventions of any given science-fiction thriller. During the film, the location changed multiple times; therefore, in an effort to make things as clear as possible for the audience, the director chose to incorporate establishing long shots which showed areas, such as a field, train station, and a city. These shots were often accompanied by some sort of panning motion that would eventually settle on a wide view of the landscape, alongside on-screen, embedded textual supplements, that were added in during the movie's editing stages, that would give the audience information regarding the name of the location itself, as well as the amount of time that had elapsed, preventing them from becoming confused in the event of a locational change or a flash-forward. In smaller locations, such as the primary subject's clone's bedroom, panning was USD to establish more context about that character specifically, for instance, it revealed that he was still a child, as evidenced by the LEGO sets scattered around his room, one who, due to his unfortunate circumstances, was having his childhood stripped away from him, In addition, the director attempted to create a contrast between the content lives of other characters irrelevant to the plotline in the film and the dire situation faced by the primary subjects by using long shots. When the director employed the use of a normal long shot, they would show a speeding vehicle that sped by the slow-paced pedestrians of a city to show how on-edge the subject was and how despite his troubles, life continued on for others. Extreme long shots were used when the director was trying to show how the location where the action would take place was lively and colorful, a luxury that the subject of the film could not experience. Wide shots were also used, but instead of only functioning to display a particular location, like that of a long establishing shot, they also revealed key information about the primary subject of the film. In multiple instances, wide shots were used to show the isolation of the subject, both literally and figuratively, both on land and in the ocean, a clear reflection of his internal feelings. 

    Throughout the film, I noticed that the use of eye-line matches and close-ups of the subject were typically reserved for moments of vulnerability when speaking to a trusted contemporary of his, especially when the topic at hand was a serious subject matter, almost as though the director wanted to the audience to make an emotional connection to their subject and understand where he was coming from. If that wasn't enough proof of the director's intentions already, close-up shots also showed the subject's reactions towards certain situations, the determination, fear, and pain he experienced. Likewise, the same shot and editing combination was used later on in the film as the antagonist began to rationalize his choices, all the while being shown from an undistorting angle, which then allowed the audience to either choose to sympathize with him or at the very least form their own judgments of him, not swayed by the opinions of the subject. The close-ups did also help to reveal certain physical features of the subject, such as his spade tattoo that other characters shared (which had no direct effect on the plot whatsoever), as well as his phone screen to alert the audience of potential threats from early on. For the better part of the movie, there were multiple subjects who remained from and center of each shot which meant that two and three shots, with medium close-up framing, were used in an attempt to relate the dynamic of each character to one another during a conversation, a normal interaction, or one of their introductions to the main group.

    In this movie, I noticed that there were quite a few subtle hints regarding the power structure of each side of the conflict. When it came time to portray either a threat to their position or a show of their dominance over a fellow character, the subjects would be shown at a low angle. As for when a younger, subordinate character or one who had been beaten up was shown, a high angle was used to show them in a position of powerlessness and defeat. During the fighting scenes within the film, medium shot framing was used to allow for more emphasis to be put on the emotions of the characters, whilst still giving the audience the chance to lose themselves in the action, something that this fill didn't ever seem to run out of. Over the shoulder shots were also very common and were used for a myriad of different purposes, from being used to capture a spy remaining covert and undetectable to showing a cold and calculating gunman whose emotions were obscured from the audience, painting them out to be an unremorseful killer, and even to allowing an intimate moment to be shared on-screen amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life in the background. Outside of such situations, the director stayed relatively consistent with their use of an eye-level angle.

    When looking at camera movements specifically, one will find that throughout the course of the film, zooming in was quickly attributed to a shocking revelation made by a subject, whereas tracking shots were used to capture the raw movement of characters and vehicles. One particular instance being when a tracking show included both the subject and their reflection in a nearby puddle, acting to produce a mirrored effect that played into the very concept of the film, that being that a clone was created of the main subject and was hunting him down. The handheld, shakey effect was also used in conjunction with a point of view shot and panning to simulate the unease the subject experienced as they looked around and when running away from a threat, essentially aiming to have the audience empathize with the subject as they navigated their way through tense moments with uncertain outcomes, something that is quite characteristic of any given science-fiction thriller. By using this effect, the director was also able to make it seem like the subject was hesitating to take action when a shot was settled on one area for an extended period of time.

Sound:

    In the movie, non-diegetic ominous music, whose pace would quicken as a threat approached, was used alongside ambient sounds, such as the chirping of crickets at night, to ensure that there was never an unintentional silence. Now, I say intentional silence because there were quite a few moments during the film that the director chose to make nearly devoid of sound entirely. Right before something bad happened in the film, the audience would be subtly keyed into it as silence would loom over the film, the birds would stop chirping, or a character would die, and following this silence, a loud, startling noise that would catch the audience of guard would be heard, such as a gunshot. In underwater scenes, the sound was muted to create a realistic and immersive effect.

    Furthermore, any tense, non-diegetic music accompanying a scene would stop temporarily when multiple characters were conversation as to ensure that the audience was aware of what they were discussing, and if a situation had become hopeful, the audio would change to adopt a more uplifting melody. Having said that, we can now shift gears and go back to things the audience could actually hear in the film, the diegetic sounds if you will, and, as I've just stated, dialogue is one of them. In this movie, the dialogue was arguably the most vital source of information as it revealed things regarding the subject's sarcastic disposition with his repeatedly snarky remarks, his solitary background as he had no wife and no kids. It also provided details about the main threat to the subject, which was a "project" run by "Gemini" (even the name of the initiative itself clued the audience into the fact that there would be some kind of double involved since the zodiac sign is comprised of twins) to create a "new breed of soldiers," which hints at the films science fiction undertones and even explained the subject's inability to face himself in a mirror after all that he's done (which is really ironic since the entire film is based around him literally fighting a clone of himself), thereby establishing both the internal troubles of the subject, who was not desensitized to his killings, and the external conflict of fighting his clone. When it came to the subject's clone, the audience was also able to see that he was conditioned to behave in a certain way, one in which affection was quite limited as despite being called son by his adoptive father figure, he was trained to respond with a terse 'yes sir', almost as if he was a trained soldier. Aside from dialogue, I also liked the use of diegetic music to illustrate the comical personality of a secondary subject, as well as the creation of an echo when another character cried out in desperation, hoping to find some sort of solace and reassurance that she wasn't alone when she heard her voice.

Editing:

    Over the course of watching the film, I began to notice that there were quite a few editing techniques that seemed to be continuously repeated, likely because they effectively fit the director's vision. One of these editing effects was the use of slow-motion visuals when a threat approached to build suspense, or when the subject would narrowly avoid a split-second hit. Blurring was also used when focusing on a specific gadget, the expression of a particular character, as they cried, for example, and even certain aspects of the set, as it removed the focus from a living subject where the audience's attention would normally drift. I also saw that shot-reverse-shots were often used to capture certain reactions, no matter what a subject's affiliation was in the film, having shown the antagonist as he flinched with a twinge of remorse before returning to the high ground, for instance. Being that thrillers intend to build up tension and suspense, it was essential that these feelings were not disrupted by unnecessary transitions, sp when switching between locations, cross dissolving was used to blend scenes together. On one occasion, it was used for a flashback, which was made clear to the audience by the director's choice to use a black and white filter on scenes from that time. Going back to inter-scene transitions, crosscutting was also used as it did not disturb the natural flow of the film and was able to jump between what was happening with members on either side of the conflict at any given time, whilst also switching in between two fights, so that when there was a lull in one, the audience was put right into the middle of the height of another, keeping them engaged and intrigued. 

    Another thriller convention I saw in the movie was its use of cutaways before anything gory happened on-screen, as that is something reserved primarily for the horror genre. Now, when speaking in terms of less general editing, I also thought that the hundreds of virtual effects used on Will Smith to produce a "clone" of himself were not only way out of our budget, but overall quite impressive due to their hyperrealism that made it almost believable. Once the film actually came to a close, a fade-out was used, which to me, signaled the official conclusion to the movie, but not to the happy ending that the film's characters would continue to live out.

Mis-Én-Scene: 

    To me, mis-én-scene is really the make or break of whether or not a movie draws me in and convinces me, at least for a moment that everything I'm seeing on-screen could truly be plausible for all of the events that transpire to not only make sense, but leave a lasting impression on me.

    First on the list of mis-én-scene is costumes. In the movie, the antagonists are seen donning black articles of clothing, an indication of their affiliation with the "dark side" (for lack of a better word). At one point in the movie, the subject's clone wore a dark-colored mask, dehumanizing him and painting him out to be the ultimate threat as he had seemingly foregone any sense of compassion that he may have had. This whilst the primary subjects are outfitted in rather casual wear, with the main subject himself actually wearing things like an old, worn-out baseball cap, plain-looking t-shirts, and an informal jacket for most of the movie, which ties into the fact that he leads a modest life. Make-up didn't really have much of an effect in this film as it did not rely on any sort of prosthetics or extravagant make-up looks to drive a point home.

    Next up for mis-én-scene is lighting. During the movie, dark settings were used, so lighting was limited to that of which was produced by artificial fixtures. In addition, flashing red lights were present to indicate danger. When outside, natural lighting was used to show that the subject could not escape said danger, no matter the time of day.

         After lighting comes acting, which I feel was important in creating both contrasts and parallels between the subject and his clone. From the very beginning of the film, the primary subject was shown to be the type of individual that always counts his blessings and holds deep gratitude for the luck he receives every day. This was indicated by the fact that he lit a candle in memorial for someone who he had assassinated earlier in the day, meaning that despite understanding the need to carry through with the kill, he still holds some sort of respect or remorse for his victims. In addition, the subject is shown speaking comfortably with friends from his past, illustrating that despite feeling alone in terms of the way he feels inside, he is still able to make lasting connections with those around him. Furthermore, since the subject's clone is a younger version of himself, I thought it was interesting that the director chose to make this known by having the older subject be less agile when fighting, whereas his clone was significantly more dextrous and nimble. 

    As for props, it seemed as though modern-day weaponry, specifically guns, was used the most. There were, of course, small details hidden within the use of other props, like mirrors, which are commonly used when a doppelganger is involved, quite fitting since the movie is about the subject's double, beverages, such as the fact that the subject chose to drink a soda, whereas his former assassination companion opted for a beer, a clear nod to the fact that while, as revealed by dialogue, the subject has not yet come to terms with what he has done in the past, he has not resorted to alcoholism to drown out his troubles and regrets, and even boats, being that the subject was shown on a smaller boat and one of his closest friends was shown on a very large one, making it seem as though the subject is not at all jealous of his friend's successes and is instead content with what he has. 

    Finally, as I've previously stated, the film is set in a number of different locations worldwide, including a fake training facility, catacombs, and foreign cities. When it came to those locations, the cities were shown to be bright and colorful, acting as a direct contrast with the film's dark tone and eerie premise. In addition, the use of catacombs, an already morbid place to begin with, conveyed a sense of tension, danger, and imminent doom to the audience as that would be the first enclosed location that the subject and his clone would face off in. On occasion, rain would also be shown in the film, acting to express how hopeless the situation had seemed for the subject until things turned around for him.

Takeaways:

    When watching movie, I certainly felt that there was a lot that my group members and I could learn from to be able to produce our final task. Looking first at the faults that I found in the film, I'd like to begin by stating that this was a very ambitious project, but I am quite disappointed with its execution. One of the main flaws I found with the film was its use of certain shots, particularly close-ups, to highlight details that were meant to be subtle and make them more obvious. While this may not seem like a poor production choice at first glance, consider that the spade tattoo on the subject's wrist was shown and focused on multiple times only to have no relation to the film at the end of the day. Nothing was revealed about the tattoo that contributed to the storyline in any way, so it made those shots seem like filler whose sole purpose was to make the film longer, not that it needed to be since it was less than five minutes away from hitting the two-hour-long mark. With that being said, my group and I all agreed that we'd personally prefer to see meaningful shots that contain discreet clues within them but don't make them the main focus of the shot so that we can still address more important aspects while still giving the scene "easter eggs" for the audience to pick out and use to try to piece together what they believe might be going on. 

    Now, this might be personal preference, but I thought the physical combat was excessive at times and actually took away any real substance from the film, as reached the point where I myself began to question where the "thriller" part of the film was, as there was no longer a doubt in my mind, no sort of suspense being created, as to who would triumph in the end because of the movie's predictable and repetitive plot. Moreover, the fact that the film included a flashback is not something that I found bad with it per se, but it is definitely not something that we can include in our video being that we won't have enough time to establish that it is a flashback since we're making the opening to a film. In an effort to not be a complete cynic (today's Wordle word of the day which we got in three tries), I will highlight some of this film's positive characteristics. I did find the acting in the movie to be pretty good and the chemistry between the subjects was quite apparent. Whilst the cross dissolving wasn't my favorite thing, I will agree that it was well-placed in the movie and was effective in maintaining consistency and continuity with its shots. Furthermore, I was also a fan of the film's use of point-of-view shots. While this may not have been the best film ever released, it is certainly one from which we can learn and improve.

You know, after watching this film, I've started to question whether or not I really am the person that I think I am, which I feel that "Weird Al" Yankovic really captured with the statement "I think I'm a clone now" (1988).

Genre Blog: Final Decision- The Time Has Come

    Hello there! I see you've returned because you're curious on which genre we chose to go with. Well, you'll be happy to hear that we've ultimately decided to merge two of the genres we researched together, those being science fiction and thriller. By making the choice to dapple in two genres at once, we can truly showcase all that we’ve learned over our filming journey by combining elements from either category and then putting our own spin on things to produce a truly comprehensive work. You may be wondering why I have yet to make mention of the comedy genre, well that’s because we chose to discard said genre due to its subjective nature and the obvious difficulty of being able to establish enough context during the opening of the film to have the jokes and one-liners we make really stick. We came to this conclusion by noting the similarities between the two genres, particularly when it came the camera angles and shots that they used. Said likenesses included their respective uses of close-ups, dutch tilts, and tracking shots. We were also very fond of the fact that we could manipulate the conventions of either genre to our liking by combining them into one. For example, by incorporating the thriller genre into our final task, we will be able to fully immerse our audience into the emotionally-charged, suspense-filled piece we will be creating. Moreover, we will also be able to create an unpredictable plotline, in which, as I've mentioned in an earlier blog, we will be able to drop subtle clues at to what is really going on. Unlike other genres, this will encourage our audience to pay more attention to details that are often overlooked and find meaning in the minute. This, in turn, will allow us to dedicate more time during our opening to show more of the film, whilst the actual context is established through the set and props rather than through actual dialogue, leaving the audience wanting more as they question what they've just seen, and making our opening all the more effective. As for our inclusion of the science fiction genre in our final task, we intend to use it as a way to expand the possibilities of our opening past those that can be easily explained, such as the overused home invasion plot, as we can now explore more bizarre scenarios, thereby making it more enthralling. Moreover, we can then use the foley method and create interesting sound effects with items we can easily access at home. This then lets us be more creative and gives us the opportunity to test out new methods and see how well they work for our purposes. 

    Overall, we have found that combining science fiction and thriller into a singular genre would be the most practical option for our purposes. This comes from the fact that we will be able to save time and money as we do not need to go in search of complicated costumes or hard-to-find locations, as we can instead use casual clothing and the same convenient location we had already intended on using from the very beginning. Furthermore, we will be able to warp expectations and leave much of our film's plot up to the imagination without stripping away its impactfulness. These very elements are what constitute an exceptional movie opening, so our final task sure to be great! 

To end things off for today, I'd like to say that while this genre research has been tiring, it is certainly something we couldn't have done without, it's just one of those "...bare necessities..." (Bruce Reitherman and Phil Harris 1967).

Genre Blog: Comedy- Gags and Gimmicks

    Hi! The final genre we will be exploring is comedy. Comedy is arguably the most difficult genre to get down, because something is either funny or it's not, which is entirely up to the audience to decide. However, there are some tried and true techniques used for directors of the genre that seem to carry across it as a whole because they are so effective. To understand these filming choices, we'll need to examine the basic concepts of filming with regard to this specific genre.

Camera Angles, Movement, and Shots:

        In the comedy genre as a whole, there seems to be this running idea that shots should be more close-up and in your face, so to speak, in order to direct the scene’s focus onto a specific subject. This is why close-ups and extreme close-ups are commonly seen as part of the genre, approaching uncomfortably close distances with the subjects and essentially invading their space. This is taken to an extreme in a number of different films, where fourth wall breaks occur as the camera and the subjects influence one another, a refreshing decision that differs from other genres which make the audience feel like spectators who, although are immersed occasionally in the action, don't really feel as though they are "part" of the movie. A noteworthy example of this occurs with a zoom-in that takes place during the film Spaceballs (1987) where the Dark Helmet is hit with the camera. Zooming in is also used for comedic effect. For instance, in the 2005 film, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an exaggerated zoom-out is used to emphasize a point and then take it a bit further until it becomes so absurd that people find it funny. Now, if the film intends to show the awkward or ridiculous interactions between multiple characters, it will use two shots, three shots, and medium shots being that the director wishes to not place the focus on the scenery, but rather on the subjects and the trouble they run into. Having said that, point-of-view shots are also incorporated into comedies as they make it seem as though the viewer is experiencing the event in real-time, almost as if they are a subject in the film themselves; this was seen in the 2009 movie Year One. Establishing shots are often used to create context for the location of the film, such as in the beginning few scenes of Good Burger (1997) where the "fine dining establishment" location and appearance are revealed. This is certainly a shot that my group and I believe to be essential to any film, so it will probably be something we include in our final task. Tracking shots are also used when giving the audience a clear insight into the life of a subject, usually as they prepare themselves for the day. High angles are used to emphasize the power dynamic that one character holds over another, as seen in Matilda with Mrs. Trunchbull’s imposition of power of the children at the school. This while low angles are used to create an ironic effect, like in 21 Jump Street (2012). 

    As for camera movements, whip panning, which is essentially a more rapid version of a pan, is used to create misdirection by disrupting the momentum of a scene, whilst simultaneously adding energy to a shot, as seen in the 2007 movie Hot Fuzz. This is another technique that my group and I thought was very interesting because it is not reserved solely for the comedic genre, but can also be applied to a wide array of other film types. As for tilts, they are typically used for underwhelming reveals, like Top Secret! (1984), which quickly dissipates the sense of tension and urgency a pair of enemy boots created. 

Sound:

    When looking at the sounds used in comedy, one will automatically see that the use of sound effects is more prominent here than it is in any other genre. This is because audio gags are often used in comedic films, such as with the inclusion of bodily humor or exaggerated noises when a subject is injured, for example. Sounds can also be used to create a contrast between the subject's perception of themselves and what others truly see. Moreover, at the very beginning of a comedy, a particular song will often be used which gives the audience an idea of the type of person that the main character will be, as with Legally Blonde (2001).

Editing: 

    In comedy, editing is effective in breaking up pacing as a means of achieving a comedic effect, hence why comedies tend to use more outdated techniques like a dissolve when a subject was daydreaming. By using choppier transitions, the quality of the film is not lowered, but the director is able to use these faults to make the movie funny. In addition, in the opening scenes of some comedies, interesting fonts are used to capture the attention of the audience, like with the movie Little Rascals in 1994. In the movie Mean Girls (2004), a split-screen effect was also used during phone calls. 

Mis-Én-Scene: 

    One of the key components of mis-én-scene is costumes. With comedies, subjects are often seen making laughable clothing choices made depending on the joke being made, perhaps a clown costume will make an appearance depending on how old the piece is, or a subject's clothing will be extremely mismatched, which may or may not lead to the humiliation of said character. Moreover, in films like Edward Scissorhands (1990), the primary has literal scissors for hands, an absurd concept that serves as a visual representation of how different he is from others in society.

    In comedies, scenes have colorful and have lively backgrounds which is achieved by the inclusion of bright, soft, and high-key narrative lighting. This lighting is often maintained throughout the entirety of the film unless a joke about the seriousness of a subject is to be made, in which case directors may opt to using these darker color schemes for only dramatic effect.

    Makeup is often used to make characters look very bizarre and have overexaggerated features. For example, in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) a father dresses as an older woman, adorned with prosthetics and a wig, so that he can visit his kids after he has a feud with his wife and can no longer see them as himself. 

    The props used in comedies vary widely, but over the years, things like weapons, puppets, and breakable furniture have all been used, so the possibilities are virtually endless. 

    Comedies cannot be confined to one location as humor can flourish anywhere; however, most comedies are set in schools, like School of Rock (2003), office spaces, and even the outdoors.

Takeaways:

    The comedy genre is definitely interesting. There are so many different avenues that someone can choose to take when exploring the comedy genre, which makes it all the more entertaining. I feel like my group and I were all very captivated by the genre's use of zoom-in's, close-ups, high angles, establishing shots, and whip panning. This is because of the fact that these shots are not only easy to execute, but also make for a very animated and dynamic film.

    If we choose to go with a comedic genre, we'll be sure that when it comes to your laughter, you won't be able to "...hold it back anymore..." (Idina Menzel 2013). 

Genre Blog: Thriller- Scaring Your Socks Off

     Welcome back! The next genre we decided to work on was thrillers. The thriller genre is one of gripping suspense, unpredictability, and uncertainty, which, unlike horror, focuses on the less gory aspects of scaring an audience. Using the same method as before, we'll take a look into what makes up a thriller and determine whether or not we can use its conventions in a work of our own.

Camera Angles, Movement, and Shots:

    In the thriller genre, the director's primary intent is to unnerve the audience without resorting to gore to do so, granted, while this may mean that they sometimes resort to cheap jump scares to creep out the audience, I would say that their use of camera angles and shots is also quite effective in getting the audience on edge.

    Eye-level shots are the most used within the thriller genre and can be seen during normal conversations or when a subject looks off-screen in fear of an unspecified threat. I believe that the latter of the two could potentially be something that we use in our final task that may not be as scary as completely leaving the audience in the dark. Moreover, it also keeps us from wasting time and money in designing some sort of menacing figure, as opposed to simply leaving our audience questioning the truth behind it all, which is more effective being that we are producing an opening scene that we wish to use to draw the attention of our audience in. High angles are typically used to make a subject seem impotent in the face of something much greater than them, creating a sense of impending doom. One specific example was in 2010, with the movie Shutter Island, where a doctor is pushed into a desk by Leonardo Decaprio's character and then quickly begins to scramble for incriminating documents to present to him. 

    In addition, dutch tilts can be used for a multitude of reasons, either to make it seem as though a subject has gone insane, to generate unfamiliarity in the sense, or even to create tension as seen in Law Abiding Citizen (2009) where a character is strapped into a bed as they await a lethal injection. This sort of shot was something my group and I particularly liked due to its simplicity in filming and its versatility. When it comes to camera movements, both tilts and pans are used for dramatic reveals as they effectively obscure the entirety of the scene and build up to a release in tension. Close-ups and extreme close-up shots are used to give the audience an authentic view of the character's feelings, which are usually ones of sorrow, hence why the backgrounds of said shots are often blurred as to not remove the focus from the emotion that is building up during the scene. Over-the-shoulder shots are used in thrillers to make conversations seem more impersonal and cold, like in Parasite (2019), where a mother and the CEO of a pizza company engaged in a tense discussion. Tracking shots are used in thrillers to simulate the effect of a character being stalked or watch, whereas point-of-view shots are used to give the audience an understanding of how helpless a subject feels, giving them the opportunity to empathize with them. Even zooming in can be used in the thriller genre as it works to convey a moment of realization for a subject, a turning point that they can no longer return from.

Sound:

    When it comes to sound, diegetic noises that are commonly attributed to thrillers, such as sobbing, screaming, footsteps, whispering, and banging are all good ways to keep the audience, like the subject, always on guard, especially when the sounds occur unexpectedly and are able to frighten viewers. As for non-diegetic sounds, stings are used to add suspense as they used high-pitched string instruments and piano keys to make unsettling sounds. When something bad is about to happen in a thriller, the background music, if any, will begin to adopt a quickened pace, which can either mislead the audience by building up to nothing, or by creating a sense of heightened tension that is eventually released with a well-planned scare.

Editing:

    Despite editing techniques often being used to make transitions between scenes smoother, in the thriller genre, they seem out of place. This is because they break up the build-up in tension in the film. Now, while you might see an occasional shot-reverse-shot when the situation warrants it, during a conversation for instance, or a cutaway when the need to shift focus between two points overshadows an action sequence, that's about it in the editing department.

Mis-Én-Scene:

    Costumes and makeup in thrillers often consist of more casual, everyday wear as they discuss events that can occur to real people. Oftentimes, one might see someone wearing a typical psychiatrist outfit consisting of a pair of glasses and neat clothing, as in the case of a psychological thriller for example. 

    With lighting, thrillers are often dark, which is done purposefully with the intent to limit the audience's view of the entire scene, as to build suspense.

    As for acting, subjects in thrillers are often shown going crazy and losing sight of themselves, so out of place laughter and smiling are common, along with more serious interactions between characters. Now, while the dialogue can reveal important aspects regarding the context of the film, it should not be heavily relied on, being that said elements should instead be incorporated into the set itself, as a way to optimize screen time and provide small hints to the audience. Therefore, while the twist in a thriller is unexpected, it still makes sense.

    In thrillers, props including knives, masks, and even cellular devices are relied upon to drive the story along and make it more relatable to the audience, as they might've chosen to use the same everyday items as the subject in the film to protect themselves for example, and have faced a similar somber fate.

    Finally, the set of thrillers varies widely being that the genre can be subdivided into a myriad of different categories, but thrillers are frequently shown to take place in locations that are familiar to both the subject and viewer, for example within a household. This is done to remove any sense of comfort or solace that the subject and audience could've found, by stripping away their feelings of safety in what was once a sanctuary, something that we could also do in our final task.

Takeaways:

   The thriller genre is quite nuanced in the sense that it has very particular aspects that set it apart from the rest of the genre line-up. Therefore, we were able to pick out certain conventions that we would like to include in our final task, such as eye-level and close-up shots, tilting, panning, dark lighting, and perhaps an occasional cutaway.

Since we're posting so late, I feel as though the King of Pop himself would've said, "...this is thriller, thriller night" (Michael Jackson 1982).

Genre Blog: Science Fiction- Shooting For The Stars

     Greetings Earthling, we come in peace! Today we worked on conducting research regarding what the genre of our final task would be. The first stop on our list was to examine the science-fiction genre and its conventions. Before I delve into that though, I would like to state how interesting I find science fiction to be as it is such a versatile genre, with the films nestled within the category ranging from being about gritty post-apocalyptic scenarios, to futuristic interstellar escapades, to nail-biting alien invasions, and even to mind-warping time travel-twisted plots. All of the aforementioned concepts each fit into science fiction's standard, yet vague definition of being a genre in which a fictional story concerning futuristic or imagined hypotheticals and their effect on society is created. With that being said, it should make sense as to why every science fiction film has a few underlying similarities with its counterparts, which make the genre instantly recognizable. To understand these commonalities, we'll need to look at the fundamental components of any film, which I've outlined below. 

Camera Angles, Movement, and Shots:

    The science fiction genre is riddled with a variety of different camera angles and shots being that it is so diverse. We were able to locate some shared similarities within the realm of science fiction, one of which was the use of wide shots. Said shots are typically used for capturing exoplanetary settings and often showcase a singular planet from a distance that also reveals the surrounding space, with one notable example was when Earth was shown in the 2013 hit, Gravity, or when providing the audience with a larger view of the setting when faced with unfamiliar, strange terrains, like with The Martian in 2015. A similar effect is achieved by the use of long shots in movies like Risen (2021). While these shots are impressive, the first of the two might be difficult to achieve unless we drive up to Cape Canaveral one of these weekends and hitch a ride on one of Space X's Dragon shuttles. Moving on, we also noticed that close-up shots are used when it comes to capturing the awe that subjects find themselves in when exploring the unknown, like in the movie Avatar (2009), or when conveying a sense of tension when, such as in the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Being that such a simple shot is so effective, it is something that we would like to include in our final task. Eye-line matches, which are part of editing, are also used in conjunction with close-up shots as they are able to convey a shared, sometimes intense emotion between multiple subjects. Furthermore, extreme close-ups are often used to showcase a change in a subject, perhaps one in which a physical transformation occurs, or in the case of the 2005 film, The Jacket, the audience is clued into the fact that the subject is time traveling, shifting from one place to another. In terms of when characters are speaking to one another, two shots, tracking shots, over-the-shoulder shots, shot reverse shots, and each type of medium shot can be seen depending on the situation and the way in which the characters are conversing. 

    The use of eye-level angles is something that all science fiction films share as they work to make the audience feel comfortable, being that they can identify themselves in a subject and find a sense of familiarity amongst the foreign lands and creatures that said actor encounters along the way. This undistorted view of the subject is also essential in films because it then allows the audience to form their own opinions regarding said subject, so it is likely that we will also try to include this in our film. As for dutch tilts, we did find them to be quite interesting as it plays off of the audience's unfamiliarity with a situation and then further disorients them, something that was quite effective in movies like Inception in 2010. Regarding low angles, they are often used to put the villains in a position of power, as seen during the agent chase scene in The Matrix (1999). Moreover, they can also be used to capture vast, vertical landscapes in large cities, often becoming paired with the use of a tilt. 

    On the topic of camera movements, panning is sometimes used along with a point of view shot to make it seem like the audience is taking in the scenery or events directly through the eyes of the subject themselves. Additionally, panning can be used when a character is hit or flung, until it ultimately settles on the subject once they've made an impact with an object or the ground, as shown in Love and Monsters (2020). Likewise, during action-packed scenes where running occurs, handheld camera recording is conducted to make the shots look shakey and make it seem as though the viewers are right alongside the subject, a trick used in movies like Jurrasic Park (1993). 

Sound:

    In science fiction films, sound is a crucial element, whether it is employed with the use of clever sound effects or within a carefully-crafted soundtrack, like in Interstellar, where Hans Zimmer incorporated a ticking sound on one planet to represent the time passing by on Earth. What's interesting about the sounds in science fiction films is that because so many of the props and concepts films use are nonexistent today, directors need to rely on alternative methods of producing meaningful sound effects; hence why they turn to foley. Foley is essentially when sound effects are added after the shooting of the actual film, and it opens up the avenue for directors to be more inventive with sounds by the use of readily available, household objects, which means that we can achieve these same effects in our own film. For example, in the 2018 film, A Quiet Place, lettuce was cracked to simulate the sound of the alien creature's ear opening and listening for noise. Foley can be also used to make objects emit sounds louder than they normally do to ensure that they are heard by the audience, such as when the lights in a spaceship, which can be captured by closing a DVD case, or when a distinct metallic clank occurs, which can be simulated by hitting a spoon against a pot, which lie in the background as ambient noise. These sounds which are often overlooked are vital in allowing the film to create an immersive environment for the audience, whether they are produced organically or synthetically. In addition, some sounds such as those emitted from otherworldly creatures can be obtained by pitching up human or animal noises. Within the science fiction genre, one will also encounter the widespread use of leitmotifs, such as with the introduction of subjects like the infamous Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga. Incidental music is also common as helps make a scene more dramatic, as with the reveal of the brachiosaurs in Jurassic Park.

Editing:

    The science fiction genre is one of the newer genres to be introduced to the media industry and for good reason. Looking back to when the science fiction genre had its first official "take-off", one will find that it was only popularized about three centuries ago, which really isn't that far back in the grand scheme of things. One might make the conjecture that this was when people became more interested in the future and the possibilities it held, enthralled by a distant time that they'd never get to experience and seeking comfort in their attempts to capture what might one day be. On the other hand, the science fiction genre may have only begun to gain traction within the past few hundred years because of the technological advancements occurring that enabled the genre to be truly revolutionary. To understand what I mean by that, consider the words "science fiction films," and take note of what first comes to mind. Often times when the phrase is uttered, one's mind will drift to the likes of Avatar, Star Wars, and its derivatives, and the Jurrasic Park media franchise, and it does so rightfully being that those three titles occupy the top three spots on the highest-grossing science fiction films worldwide of all time. 

    As I've stated earlier in this blog, the science fiction genre can manifest itself in many different forms as is evidenced by the fact that each of the aforementioned films have entirely different storylines, and yet all managed to be so successful. At this point, it is clear that they must share some sort of commonality in terms of their conventions, which in this case, just so happens to be with their editing, specifically their use of groundbreaking virtual effects. Now, obviously, being that they were films with such large budgets, this makes sense, so while virtual effects are something we can respect, then we likely not be able to include them into our final task as we need to meet specific deadlines and cannot afford to fall behind schedule when attempting to incorporate elements we are unfamiliar with operating.

    Speaking in terms of more general effects, my group and I did find that techniques like the inclusion of inserts were effective in providing tidbits of information that later prove to be significant, working as a Chekhov's Gun of sorts. In addition, cutaways are also used in action scenes to quickly switch between the conflict and the subjects involved in it, giving the audience the chance to recognize the scope of the issue as well as the individual characters' reactions to it. This was shown in movies like The Tomorrow War, 2012, and even in Avengers: Endgame. Another notable tactic employed by cinematographers is crosscutting, which is used to ramp up tension until two points converge as one. This was utilized in particular in Christopher Nolan's film, Tenet, which was a rather well-selected choice being that the film is based on traveling forward and backward through time until it meets at a singular point. We will likely be unable to use this technique within our own film since we have a time limit of two minutes. 

Mis-Én-Scene: 

    Within the category of mis-én-scene, one of the most recognizable elements is that of costume design. When it comes to costumes in science fiction films, they are often more elaborate than those of other genres as they seek to portray a time or situation that has never, or will likely never actually transpire. This gives directors the creative liberty to do whatever they please in terms of character design and consequently a subject's outward appearance. Oftentimes, science fiction films, particularly those with more dystopian undertones, will use costume design to separate classes or join people as one in an attempt of oppression, either by having those in higher classes wearing more gaudy clothing, like in The Hunger Games (2012) by equalizing everyone and having them all wear the same, dull clothing, as with Equals in 2015. When it comes to films based in post-apocalyptic scenarios, subjects will often wear torn, dirty articles of clothing to emphasize the struggles and strife that had to overcome to survive another day, such as with the Maze Runner in 2014. Along with costumes comes the use of make-up, particularly prosthetics like when bringing an alien species or zombie to life (ironic I know). With the use of said body modifications, film crew members are able to alter the eyes, body shape, and skin color of subjects, like with Gamora in the 2014 Marvel film, Guardians of the Galaxy to make the movie more "realistic."

    The next aspect of mis-én-scene is lighting. In science fiction films, one will see that when taking place in more futuristic scenarios, neon colors are often incorporated to feed into an oversaturated look when depicting a utopian society, whereas blue tones are used along with unnatural lighting to create a clean-cut, sterile, and cold feel, such as in the movie Blade Runner, contributing to this feeling of detachment felt by the audience as they are unable to entirely relate to the situation and the subject. Occasionally, extremely bright lighting will be used, such as when a subject slowly comes to after having been knocked out, or when a subject is being beamed up into a spaceship during an alien abduction, or even to showcase the intensity of the light outside if a subject had been underground or in the dark for an extended period of time. That is not to say that dull and dark lighting isn't used as well, being that it is effective in obscuring certain elements of the scene.

    Shifting gears and focusing on the acting aspect of science fiction films, one will see that aside from a director's proficiency in using camera shots and angles compellingly, the quality of any movie and how interesting it is to an audience also hinges on the subject's performance and whether or not it is convincing enough to evoke an emotional connection or reaction from the audience. This then becomes the reason why close-up shots are so commonly used in this genre as they have the ability to capture more intimate, stirring emotions than one might catch from a more distant shot. Of course with acting comes dialogue, which should be evocative as it will not only provide expository, worldbuilding information, but it will also help to deepen the bond that an audience will inevitably develop with the primary subject over the course of the film. Hence why when it comes to creating the opening of our film, we must use acting in a way that makes an improbable scenario seem possible and really sell it to the audience by ensuring that they are completely immersed in the storyline, dialogue, and action of our video. This will be done by preventing our dialogue from becoming dull and having it drag on with the incorporation of unnecessary information.

    In science films, as previously mentioned, many of the included topics or materials are not real, so props consist of very interesting, technologically advanced gadgets. Said gadgets are typically weapons of some sort, such as futuristic guns or even lightsabers, but they can also include various methods of transport and even communication devices. Some examples of vehicles often seen in the genre include hoverboards like in the ever-iconic 1985 Back to the Future movie, spaceships, and even flying cars. Regarding apparatuses used for transmissions, cutting-edge computers, earpieces, and even holograms, like in Iron Man 2 (2010). Even robots and artificial intelligence are incorporated as props. 

    Science fiction movies are, for the most part, set in the future, so more fantastical locations can be used, such as the interior of a spaceship, as seen in the 2016 movie Passenger, for instance. Other films that take place in barren locations or off of planet Earth entirely will have filming crews resort to traveling to various places across the globe that have scenery that resembles the vision of the director, such as lush rainforests or arid deserts. If they are unable to find a location that meets their filming needs, they may often choose to build the entire set from scratch or use extensive CGI to fill in the gaps, which is something that we won't be able to do on our limited budget, that being the reason why we chose to have our pitch be based around a closet inside of someone's house.

Takeaways:

    The science fiction genre is very complex, offering a wide assortment of different shots, angles, and locations. Being that we are high school students, there are limitations to what we can actually produce, so we'll likely need to stay away from the incorporation of visual effects and we will also need to make do with the locations we have readily available. Since our pitch already laid out the fact that our final task would be set in a house, the latter of the two isn't an issue. With that being said, we can focus on including close-up and eye-level shots, dutch tilts, panning, titling, cutaways, and inserts, so if we do choose to stick with the science fiction genre,  all hope is not lost. 

Other than those inherent limitations, I'd say that the sky is the limit, so in the words of the inspirational, intergalactic hero, Buzz Lightyear, "To infinity and beyond(!)" (Toy Story 1995).

Our Pitch Blog: From Pitch to Premise

    Hey again! Today we worked on narrowing down our ideas for our final task until we were left with two pitches to choose from before making an official decision. In order to even come up with our pitches, we first needed to ensure that we could actually produce the opening to a full-length film from these conceptualizations, hence why we first brainstormed a list of potential plots and eliminated any pitches that we couldn't flesh out, leaving us with the two you see here. We also evaluated the logistics of each of our choices as you will see below because we didn't want to commit to something that we couldn't follow through on, as that would cause us to fall behind schedule and leave us with a seemingly perfunctory piece of work that would not encapsulate how much effort we truly put in. With that out of the way, I can now introduce to you the two pitches in question.

Pitch A:

It was just a normal day at home, but after stepping into their closet, things are about to take an unexpected turn for this teenager.

    My group and I were open to this idea from the very beginning being that it offered up so many different ways of playing out. To us, it was like a rabbit hole that we couldn't help but want to get lost in and explore. As with any concept in its early stages, even though we might favor an idea, it is important to be realistic before making a finalized decision. Having said that, we will need to look at multiple aspects related to filming in general, the first of which is casting. In our prompt, we defined our subject to be a young adult, and being that we are teenagers, it would be quite easy for us to use someone we know is willing to participate as our protagonist. 

    With that out of the way, we would also need to consider the location in which we would be filming. As stated in our pitch, the film would be set in the subject's home; therefore, it is highly likely that all of our filming would be confined to one general location, which may cause the audience to lose interest if the cinematography is not executed correctly. Now, whilst filming in one location may not seem like much of an advantage at first glance, one should also consider the high transport costs that come as a result of gas prices and time lost due to traffic (especially since we live in Florida) that we would have otherwise run into had we chosen to vary our film's locations.  Filming in one location will not only allow us to optimize our time, but it will also give us the opportunity to become familiar with our set, meaning that we may very well discover certain features that will enable us to attain a shot that may not have been otherwise possible. To further drive this point to "home base", one can simply see how successful other producers have been with using this tactic, with M. Night Shyamalan who has created the hit television show "Servant," which is based entirely in one house, and Andrew Meyer having led the production on the blockbuster flick, "The Breakfast Club," which was filmed entirely in one school. 

    Going back to filming considerations, we must also look to perhaps one of the most essential factors, our budget. As briefly mentioned early, using one location gives us a huge advantage in the fact that it lowers travel costs by minimizing mobility, keeping us from spending a substantial amount of money during production, which, seeing as we are relatively broke high schoolers who don't have access to the latest, state of the art film equipment that professional studios and producers do, and we need to operate on limited resources, is something that this pitch allows us to do. In my book, I'd call this pitch a major win, a real "home run" if you will. 

    Likewise, since our subject is a teenager, it won't be difficult for us to obtain casual clothing for them to wear (it is set in their home after all), so we can tick that off of our list of matters that needed to be addressed. Since all of the necessary resources for this filming project can be acquired on short notice it makes this pitch a great candidate for our official premise.

Pitch B: 

A kid finds out that their imaginary friend is not who they seem. 

    This was another pitch that we had come up with. We thought that this would be quite interesting to film because, like Pitch A, it could head in so many different directions, would their imaginary friend turn out to be evil, perhaps they'd be the ghost of their late brother, or maybe their imaginary friend will have been real all along? With that, I think it becomes very clear as to why we found this pitch to be so gripping. To evaluate the practicality of this pitch, we can use the same criteria as we did above, with our first consideration being casting. In this case, the only thing we've set in stone is that the primary subject of our film would be a young child, a preteen at most, whereas we've left the age of their imaginary friend entirely undefined. As such, it might be difficult to obtain a young child who will act in the appropriate manner, and learn and adhere to a script in time for filming, which is worrisome since our entire film would hinge on whether or not that is possible in the first place. 

    Shifting our focus now to the location of the film, which we have left undefined, it is clear that the possibilities are virtually endless. Unlike Pitch A, we are given free-range mobility and can travel to different places to obtain more varied shots that will not only contribute to our plotline, perhaps by revealing why the child has or sees their imaginary friend in the first place, but that will also keep our audience entertained as each different location would serve as a change of pace. On the other hand, however, this does have some inherent drawbacks when it comes to our budget, as more money would be spent on traveling from place to place and it may prove to be difficult to reshoot flawed scenes in locations that are far away or hard to reach.

Our Final Pitch:

    Looking at the two pitches both holistically and comparatively, one will see that with Pitch A there are some concerns regarding the use of a singular location, whereas, with Pitch B, our worries lie more with casting and the like. Likewise, with Pitch B we believe that it may be difficult to establish enough context to constitute a backstory of sorts and do the movie (if we were to create a full-length feature film) any justice when creating its opening, whilst with Pitch A was able to create the right level of mystery and intrigue that we feel is something we can build off of, especially since we have already laid a solid foundation with a statement that is ambiguous enough that will leave our audience wanting more, but still grounded enough where we, as filmmakers, aren't left questioning the general plot last minute. Of course, in the end, it comes down to one simple question, "How doable is it?" To be entirely honest, we were able to come up with more ideas related to our first pitch, Pitch A, as opposed to our second pitch, Pitch B. That being the case, after careful deliberation and consideration, we have ultimately decided to follow through with Pitch A. 

Closing Remarks:

    As is to be expected, we did have our disagreements about what our final pitch would be and it did take quite a while to even get it down to these two, but with a little cooperation and a couple of compromises, we were able to reach a verdict to go with Pitch A. I really think that our final task is sure to be a real "dinger¹," so I have no doubts that we'll "Knock it out of the park" (Sam & Dave 1993).

¹ Dinger is a slang word that is commonly used in baseball and which means "home run."

Group Blog: The Return of the Quartet

     Well, hello there! As you might expect at this point, my group members and I have remained the same. I am partnering with Julissa Espinal, Yaneli Zelaya, and Nicole Kimmick. With these last few projects, I can confidently say that we've grown more comfortable around one another and have a strong sense of each other's respective strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, navigating through any shortcomings we may encounter this time around won't be as difficult as they might've been had we chosen to go our separate ways. Just like with our previous tasks, we will equally split up our work and place ourselves in positions that we each particularly excel in so that we are able to produce the highest quality of work that we can. In short, we have already established a system that works for us, so why change it? As the old saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Having said that, however, this time we are being faced with an unfamiliar challenge, one that originally seemed to be quite difficult for us to solve. That challenge being that one of our groupmates will no longer be in the same class period as us. This, as are many things in the real-world industry, was completely out of our control, which means that we need to be able to quickly adapt to this change so that it doesn't throw a wrench into any of our plans. Naturally, the most logical course of action, which we have agreed to follow, will be to conduct meetings during lunch, after school during on-campus tutoring days, and to have regularly scheduled FaceTime calls throughout the week to ensure that everything runs as smoothly, as it has with our past two projects. I have complete faith that we will work out any issues that we run into together as a team, and be able to overcome them, no matter what they may be. Showing my teammates that I can be there for them and knowing that they can be there for me when I need them is a valuable asset to have as it brings everyone closer together and makes sure that our confidence in one another never falters. 

    Outside of this class, we all have our own lives and plans, so it's nice that we are all able to come together and work towards achieving a common goal that we each care so deeply about. As is to be expected, since this is the fourth quarter, we're going to need to double down on this project and tie up any loose ends as we move along being that we cannot afford to fall behind with testing season being right around the corner. This project has been something my fellow group members and I have been looking forward to since the start of the school year. Now, granted, it will require a lot more work and preparation than other projects we've done in this class throughout the rest of the year, so I believe that we all collectively feel equal parts nervous and excited, "nervouscite ¹" if you will. I'm sure any worries that I have will be quelled as soon as we actually begin researching for this project and acquire more information going forwards. With that being said, I'd like to warn you, and prepare myself, by stating that you should expect a ton of blogs to be coming your way because I want to make sure you don't miss anything when it comes to what I deem will be my favorite project of the year!

I know that I said I'd part with the song lyrics, but, like my groupmates, I don't think I can bear to leave them behind. Of course, as I've said before, I want my groupmates to remember that they can always "Count on me like one, two, three" because "I'll be there" (Bruno Mars 2010).

¹ Nervouscite is a word I created with a fellow classmate way back in the fourth grade that can be used when it comes to describing situations in which it is appropriate to feel both nervous and excited, for instance when working on a major project, such as this one.

Reintroduction Blog 2: The Sequel (But Technically The Threequel If You're Counting My Original Introduction Blog)

     Hi! I can't believe it's been a whole year since I've last spoken to you, so I guess I should say "Happy belated New Year"! I hope you didn't miss me too much! Anywho, the last time I spoke to you was when my group and I had concluded our second project of the year, our music video. I've said it before, and I will say it again, I believe that we did an absolutely fantastic job on that task, integrating the music into our scenes better, having smoother transitions between shots, and also incorporating more visually-engaging elements, such as our on-screen test messages, into our scenes, which I can attribute to both experience and our willingness to experiment with and master new software editing programs. As for things going on in my personal life, I was recently accepted as part of an internship at my local science museum, which is very exciting and will give me the opportunity to explore my other interests outside of school. The only downfall is that I'll need to figure out a way to schedule my time there so that it doesn't interfere with my filming ventures. In more exciting news, I also received new filming gear, including my very own four-in-one, tripod, lighting, microphone, and phone mounting set, and even the latest iPhone 13 Pro Max, for Christmas after my parents noticed that film was something I was passionate about and was considering pursuing as a future career. I was able to test out my new gear at the beach when I first received it and the quality was spectacular, so I'm looking forward to sharing that, along with all of the things I've learned, with you on our final task. Of course, having said that, I am still a firm believer in the fact that it isn't the equipment that makes the film, but rather the people behind the camera, the director, the cinematographers, the actors, and even the critics, everyone plays a role in producing a genuinely impactful work of art. 

    Like I mentioned in an earlier blog, I've been looking forward to seeing the Spider-Man: No Way Home movie since its initial trailer premiered way back in August of last year. When I tell you that that truly nothing can compare to the experience one receives when watching a movie for the first time in theaters alongside countless others who share the same love for the film, the same attachment to the characters, the same respect for the director that you do, I mean it. When the crowd cheered, I did too, when they cried, we all wept together. It really is a comforting feeling to know that strangers can be united over something as simple as a new movie. I hope to create that same effect in an audience someday in the future, I don't think anything would ever be able to compare to knowing that you left a lasting effect on people you don't know, that the script you wrote, the acting you directed, the message you conveyed resonated with so many, and perhaps that is the reason I opted to take this course. With regards to the film itself, I found that its use of special effects paired very well with its various camera angles and sound effects, keeping me on the edge of my seat for the entire movie; however, one instance stuck with me specifically. In one of the movie's scenes, Peter Parker is shown being alerted by his "Spidey-Sense ™", as a slowed zoom dolly shot transpires and the sound is muffled, forcing the audience to focus on the fearful and unnerved feeling that he is experiencing, painting out the idea that something was clearly wrong, an effective technique for building suspense, that I would like to learn from and even maybe include in our latest project. 

    Aside from watching the latest in the Spider-Man cinematic installments, I also watched Don't Look Up with my family on our couch, as is to be assumed since it was dropped on Netflix, and I will say that I found it to be quite interesting. I loved the fact that the entertaining, satirical comedy doubled as a social commentary on corruption, greed, and climate change, all of which show how our demise will inevitably fall on us for making poor, selfish choices. I would also like to say that the casting and film directors' diverse and star-studded casting choices were quite clever in the sense that they were not only able to encourage a wider audience to tune in and increase profits for Netflix, but that they were also able to help raise societal awareness all the same, which is quite ironic as awareness of a global issue the very thing being suppressed in the film itself. I've always been a fan of films that can place a captivating spin on serious topics and still be able to convey a powerful message to its audience, which you may remember from a comment I've made previously regarding my fascination with Jordan Peele's works. Therefore, if possible, that is something I would really love to incorporate into our final task. 

I know that this final project will serve as a culmination of all that I have learned through each of our previous projects and I couldn't feel more ready. So, as inspired by my recent film viewing, I feel that saying "It's on again, it's on again" is a great way to set the tone for my next endeavor (Alicia Keys 2014).

Creative Critical Reflection Blog: Finally Time to Give My Music Puns a "Rest"

    Hi there! Now that we've officially wrapped things up for our music video I thought that I should engage in some "introspective interrogation," if you will. 

    Below, I've embedded a video of my creative critical reflection as a PowerPoint to make it a more entertaining walkthrough. I would like to apologize in advance for any large gaps in the timing as the school as a whole was having an issue with the system. Please be sure to pause to read some of my explanations, I am aware that some parts of the video go by fairly quickly, but it was out of my control. I assure you that the transitions were much smoother when you could click through the PowerPoint itself, but besides that, I hope you enjoy it!

I hope you enjoyed this project, stay "tuned" for the next one! And as Montell Jordan would say, "This is how we do it(!)" (Montell Jordan 1995).

Music Video Blog: The Grand Finale

     Hey, welcome back! I can happily announce that my group and I have been able to produce the final version of our music video! I felt as though this project gave us the chance to improve on the areas we struggled in before and find unique ways to go about resolving issues, whether that be as complex as trying a new software program or as simple as positioning our camera at a different angle to make sure that we could hide the extra shadows peeking into our scenes. On the topic of software programs, we were able to use Davinci Resolve 17 and familiarize ourselves with an entirely new platform that possesses a wide range of useful tools that we'll be sure to employ in future endeavors to aid in our insertion of various clips and dynamic transitions. Working on this music video allowed my fellow groupmates and I to hone in on our abilities and specialize in what we're best at so that we could ensure that our final product was representative of our matured filming capabilities. I would like to acknowledge my appreciation of the entire process of initially deconstructing what makes up a music video, particularly those in the indie genre, to allow us to identify areas of similarity amongst said videos before actually executing our own film, being that it gave us the chance to use the ideas of others as a basis for our own creativity and ingenuity. This time around, I believe that we were all especially fond of the fact that, not only could we work with individuals outside of our normal selection of peers, but we could also film off-campus, giving us the opportunity to branch out and become more comfortable with ourselves as (forthcoming) filmmakers in the real world. 

We attend a school, that whilst not heavily focused on the arts, still maintains a genuine respect for the field, whether technical or fine, which means that each of us has likely heard the phrase "An artist is never satisfied with their work." Try as we might, we couldn't completely grasp the meaning of the expression because we'd never really been tasked with creating something that was truly our own. Of course, we were all given school projects where we were told to "Be creative", but were still confined to the strong "suggestions" of a rubric. With this project, although we presented certain guidelines that we needed to follow, I strongly believe that we were given true creative liberty to express ourselves and our message as we so pleased, which isn't something that not many classes can offer. Having said that, with each of the works we've produced so far, I feel like we can now begin to take ownership of our projects and shoulder the weight of not doing as good as we could've because, as with any work, our music video wasn't entirely flawless. That'll then push us to strive to do better the next time around, to shatter the high expectations we have already constructed for ourselves, and to make an even bigger impact once we're given the chance to excel again. This project has taught us all quite a bit about not only music videos and what they are (that'd be far too surface level of a lesson), but also about thinking outside of the box, learning how to take initiative, and developing a greater appreciation for the great amount of work that goes into making a video that may be just over a minute long.

    Enough of this sappy, introspective talk (I need to save some things for my creative critical reflection, you know?), below you'll find our attached music video. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did when looking back on all our hard work! 

(Apologies in advance for the lowered quality, we tried our best to keep the video as clear as possible, but after having sent it across several platforms and applications to create our final product, an inevitable downgrade in quality is to be expected.)

To end off today's blog, I'd love nothing more than to hand the "microphone" off to Rihanna for some parting words. And so I say that we've had our share of fun, "But it's over now...", so we'll "Go on and take a bow..." (Rihanna 2007).

Editing Blog: And "Presto", We're Done!

    Hello! Today we added the final touches to our music video. We began by first muting all of our clips so that we could add in our remaining sound effects. Said audio clips included the sound of a shop doorbell dinging, the swooshing sound of an iPhone message sending, and the distinct ping of receiving a notification, all of which a group member of mine had converted from Youtube video files to MP3 audios, allowing us to easily overlay them onto our video. To ensure that the text found on the phone screen was readable for our audience, I used a video editing application known as “Prequel” to increase the contrast and lower the exposure of our video when the focus was placed on the phone screen of our subject. In doing so, I was then able to add in our official title, i.e., the name of the song and the band who performed it, which we decided would have a glowing effect to capture the attention of our audience. We also added in longer clips, which we had obtained by sticking to our “filming a scene multiple times” method. These shots were able to achieve the same purpose of allowing our audience to fully take in what was being displayed in front of them, especially when it came to displaying information that came from our subject's phone. After having done all of that, we dove in and worked on the main special effect for one of our scenes- blurring. 

    Blurring was much more difficult than we expected it to be, and I’d say that figuring out how to do so effectively was likely one of the most time-consuming parts of our second editing phase. While filming, we ensured to unfocus our background in an attempt to make this part of the editing process easier, but the real problem arose when it came time for the couple to actually walk by our subject. Since both our subject, who we intended to keep unblurred, and the couple who would be walking by were both in the same frame, we needed to find a way to keep a clear focus on our subject. Remember when I mentioned wanting to dabble in the DaVinci Resolve 17 program? Well, my wish came true because the application allowed me to selectively blur certain parts of the video, both the one mentioned above and when showing the subject's phone screen while they were on iMessage, thereby resolving our issue of being unable to change the times at which the text messages were sent. Moreover, using DaVinci Resolve 17 also gave me the opportunity to incorporate a panning shot in the diner and even superimpose the texts that our subject was receiving onto some of our clips to make them more visible to our audience.

    As mentioned in my earlier filming blog, some of my group mates needed to shine their phones’ flashlights to provide better illumination for a few of our shots. Since lighting was another major concern of ours, one of my group members and I worked together to touch up the lighting in the entire video, as to make certain that it remained consistent and allowed us to obtain clear shots. At that point, I enlisted the help of my entire group to perfect the timing of our video and cut-down clips that we found to be too long in order to make our video less choppy. This simultaneously allowed for it to fit within our given time constraints, allowing it to reach a minute and twelve seconds. Overall, I’d say that we did a fantastic job of piecing together two days' worth of filming and integrating both sessions into one entire video.

Below, you’ll find a picture that illustrates the DaVinci Resolve 17 interface and me actively editing what I found to be the hardest scene to work with. It definitely required a lot of effort, but it certainly paid off in the end!

To end things off on a "high note" for today, I'd just like to say that "I'm having a good time, having a good time" (Queen 1979).

Filming Blog: Almost at the Cresc"end"o

    Hi-ya! Yesterday marked our official completion of filming for our music video and we were able to wrap things up quite nicely. Since last night was a school night, we needed to leave directly from campus to head to our group member's house before embarking to the nearby Moonlite Diner, which is why I packed the blue and green straws (and some back-ups) with me. I would like to note that we did contact the diner beforehand to request permission to film at the restaurant in order to ensure that we respected their privacy policies. We were given the all-clear by the restaurant’s owner and set out soon afterward to begin filming.* 

    Once everyone had arrived at our group mate's house, we proceeded to drive over to the Moonlite Diner. Once there we showed the hostess our email of approval and were given the green light to proceed after having been seated at a table in the far corner as to not disturb any of the restaurant's other patrons. Our first order of business was to film the action match cut that would bridge the two locations together. Before we did that, however, we were seated at a table where we waited for things to slow down in the restaurant. As soon as the diner had begun to empty out and fewer customers were walking in, we got up and went to film at the front door. One of my group members then pulled up the car scene video we had shot and I crouched down to film the subject's foot as they stepped up to the diner's front door. Once we had achieved our desired look, we returned back to our table where we ordered the food for our subject, a burger and fries, and our own milkshakes (if Brandon gets to enjoy one after we're done filming then we should too), asking that our subject's milkshake order be held off until the food arrived, as to ensure that nothing melted or that we didn't accidentally make a mess. While we waited for everything to arrive, we went over what the next few scenes would look like, regarding timing as well as their general execution. 

    After we had finished enjoying our milkshakes (yes, Brandon did have to wait until the end to get his), and the food had made its way to our table, I took it upon myself to pull up the video where our subject was seated upright in his bed, being that I had a copy of my own, in order to ensure that the location of our subject in the frame for this scene was the same. We first positioned our subject in the center of the frame and carefully laid the dishes out in front of him so that they did not obstruct the camera’s view. One of my group mates then sat directly across from him at the table and began to record him as he apathetically played with his food (we ensured to have our empty milkshake cups moved out of the frame), whilst another one of my group's members assumed the role of a waitress and placed his milkshake in front of him once more after I had switched out the provided straw with two of our own. We placed the blue straw, which represented our subject, higher than our green straw, which served to symbolize their deceased girlfriend, reflecting this exact fact. To execute the jump cut, my teammates and I slightly shifted our subject's plate over to create the effect that he had just finished "eating," more so picking at his food, during which another member of the group expedited the subject's milkshake melting process by placing their hands around the cup to warm it up. 

    When my groupmate had concluded filming for the rest of the scene, including as the subject stepped away from the table and paid for his meal, we then proceeded to actually pay for our food and exit the premises. Upon leaving the diner, we set up my iPhone to record and began by distancing ourselves from the camera in front of the subject, so that only an empty background and he would be present. During this time, I was in control of the camera whilst also managing the timing of the couple (comprised of one of our very own groupmates and another one of her friends) to ensure that they entered the scene at the appropriate time and that they maintained a good distance from both our subject and the camera so that it would be easier to blur them out when the time came for editing. Whilst filming that scene, I ensured that the lighting was adequate by employing with the help of two of my groupmates who positioned their phones' flashlights in the direction of my recording. After that, we told our subject to move up a bit so that we could position ourselves behind them to obtain an over-the-shoulder shot. 

    At that point, I handed over the camera to another one of my teammates who held it in the correct position as I used my hand to steady their shot. Once that was done we were officially in the home stretch and performed a cutaway shot from the phone screen to the subject's face and back to the phone screen once more. Whilst that was occurring, I had referenced our earlier clips of the scene to keep the subject's hand in the same location after each cut. After that scene, we engaged in well-thought-out and careful discussion in which we decided to switch our plot twist to be that our subject had been texting their girlfriend, who we learn is deceased at the end of the music video, as opposed to being upset with him, which is what we misled our audience to believe. Finally, we had a member of our group text our subject's phone and have the message appear on-screen, using a close-up, zooming-in shot on the phone to refrain from showing the face of our subject entirely. We went a bit over our time limit of one minute and fifteen seconds, clocking in at one minute and seventeen seconds, but with some good old-fashioned editing, we'll have it down in no time!

*Denny’s was another one of our prospective locations; however, after repeated unanswered phone calls we defaulted and chose to contact the Moonlite Diner. Admittedly, this entire contacting process should have been conducted during the planning stage of this project, but we know now better and will follow the necessary procedure when it comes to our final task.

Below, I have attached a picture of the email we sent to the owner of the Moonlite Diner to request permission to film at the restaurant.

We've come so far with our music video already and after having such a successful day with filming, I felt that it called for a celebration because "Woah, we're half way there(!)" (Bon Jovi 1986).

t

Editing Blog: The "Key" to Success

    Welcome! Today we decided to begin working on phase one of the editing process for our music video, which we executed entirely on my laptop for organization's sake. As you may recall, my previous blog mentioned that we had completed filming a little under half of our total scenes, so it may strike you as odd that we've chosen to start editing so early on. However, to me at least, the production process is like cooking, you clean up as you work to save time later on for smaller final touches to be put into place. With regards to our editing session today, I found it to be quite helpful being that we were able to overlay our song onto our video, after having converted it from a Youtube video file to an MP3 of course, allowing us to gain a rough idea of where we fall with our current pacing and look for scenes that we could afford to allocate extra time on once we take on filming again. Prior to doing so, I made sure to mute each of our clips so that our nondiegetic music would be able to play over each scene without interference from external sounds that could distract our audience. Likewise, I was also able to set the stage for future editing by making sure that I could easily superimpose sound effects, such as the slamming of a car door, without having to go through the hassle of arranging the scenes and music in the correct order again. In doing so, we were also able to adjust the timings of each clip so that each cut and blink was on beat. That, in turn, makes our video more aesthetically pleasing as it will simultaneously engage our audience both visually and auditorily. Having said that, I also worked alongside my groupmates to make our transitions smoother by shortening some of our clips to have each scene flow smoothly together. This became especially important when it came to our action match cut and cutaways as we wanted to ensure that we did not confuse our audience, so that they could easily follow along with the plot. During filming, we chose to shoot some scenes multiple times in the case that we ever needed a clip of equal quality to use as a backup when attempting to remain within our tight time constraints. As we edited today, it became apparent that we had made the right decision in choosing to do so. When it came down to the final scene we revised today, the closing of a car door, we needed it to work as an action match cut, meaning that the action within the scene needed to follow through on the previous action of the scene which proceeded it, which in this case was the shutting of our subject's front door. By using a clip in which we quickly slammed the car door shut, we were able to a seamless transition between the two scenes.

For the time being, the editing work we've conducted has been restricted to ClipChamp due to my familiarity with the platform, which is displayed below, but I do plan to branch out and experiment with other online editing applications, such as DaVinci Resolve 17, if time permits.

To end things off for today, I would like to acknowledge the fact that we were able to accomplish a great deal of work today and that our performance on this project thus far has seriously surpassed my expectations. I can admit that there is still room for improvement, but we've certainly come a long way from our commercial and I cannot wait to see what our final product ends up looking like! With that said, I can find no better way to close things off than by saying that I "Always had high, high hopes..." (Panic! At The Disco 2018). 

Filming Blog: Officially on "Track"

     Hey there! Yesterday marked our first day of filming for our music video and I would like to say that it was quite productive! Prior to delving into what my group and I accomplished yesterday, I would first like to apologize for not typing up this blog last night. We were able to get through four of our scenes and wrap up our filming in one location, i.e. a fellow group member's house, entirely, but by the time we got done it was nearly nine o'clock. That may not seem like it's so late, but upon considering the hour-long travel time between my home and theirs (with Floridian traffic factored in of course) and the fact that I had quite the hectic day, having been up since five o'clock in the morning to compete in a physically draining Navy JROTC orienteering competition (in which I placed second for my event), I was completely spent. I am here now though to recount the events of my day and give you an insight into how things went.

    I arrived around four o'clock in the afternoon in order to begin preparation for our scheduled six o'clock filming time, which was optimal considering that the sun sets at around five-thirty. The first order of business, at least for myself, was to get acquainted with the individual who would be starring as the main actor in our music video. For a bit of context, the actor, who I came to learn was named Brandon, was a friend of one of our group members and he was more than happy to agree to be a part of our film. After doing so, we got straight to work. While one of my groupmates, the one portraying the subject's deceased girlfriend, worked together with our actor to take pictures that we would use for the subject's lock screen and for later scenes, I worked with the groupmate, whose home we were using to film in, to artistically and methodically make the room we were using look disorderly. We intended to achieve this look by scattering clothing and shoes across the room, on chairs, and on the ground, as well as placing a myriad of items on the desk, such as a hat and an even empty plastic bag. Once that was done, we continued to work together in order to change the date and time on our subject's phone to create the effect of having the text thread look as though it had been sent the Saturday prior to the events that transpired in our music video, establishing a timeline for what is actively occurring in the recording. However, we were unable to do so, which means that we need to resolve the issue in our editing phase. Before beginning to film, I also suggested that we use dark purple lighting in our video, as it would serve to represent the sadness and frustration experienced by our subject. The rest of my group came to the same consensus, hence why that color lighting is used to establish a sense of continuity between some of our scenes. Moreover, we also decided to send more concerned text messages from the subject's friends, using the names and photographs of other group members in the Weston Estate band. 

    As the photography session came to a close and the light outside grew fainter, I assumed the role of acting director, and the filming actually began. We referenced the storyboard quite a lot and did not deviate much from our original plan, except for a few minor changes when it came to having our subject already be in the iMessage application when sending the text to his girlfriend to save time and when changing the framing we used for our tracking shot. Being that the original concept for the video was my idea, I reviewed all of the shots we took before finalization to ensure that they fit with the overall vision I had going in. 

    As with anything in life, nothing ever goes as smoothly as expected, and there were some hiccups that I helped overcome. For the first half of our filming, we were able to use a device to stabilize our shots; however, the stabilizer eventually ran out of battery, which then allowed me to step in and provide some assistance in keeping the camera steady as we continued. Having said that, I should also mention that I was given the opportunity to film some of the scenes of our music video, during which I ensured to maintain adequate framing and shot clarity, as to allow for our audience to completely understand what is going on. Furthermore, we also had another issue regarding the presence of shadows that did not originate from our subject, but rather our film crew themselves. As previously mentioned, we needed to change the framing for one of our scenes, and the reason why is because we needed to account for the extra shadows we would undoubtedly have in our shot. Despite the shadows not being as noticeable upon doing so, we found that they were still present in the scene. That's when I stepped in and proposed that we not only direct our phone flashlights towards the area we were filming in to reduce the presence of shadows entirely, but also use our stabilizer (which also doubles as a selfie stick) to extend the iPhone we were shooting off of higher up and angle it to point down at our subject. Both of these ideas worked great and we were able to quickly resolve the issue and move on. All in all, this was definitely a great experience and I'm glad to be back into the filming groove!

Pictured below is me, towards the center of the photograph (I am indeed wearing my orienteering outfit as I came straight from the event to film), our main actor to the left, and one of my groupmates (the one portraying the subject's deceased girlfriend) as we discuss how to go about executing the next scene within the necessary time constraints.

After the (lights, camera,) action-packed day I had yesterday and the fact that part of it was military-related, I really think that the song, or jody rather, that I picked for is perfect, especially upon the mention of "Hard work(!)" (The U.S. Army Airborne 2011).