3/10 Peer Analysis

The peer Analysis we did in class really helped in terms of establishing our idea. After explaining it to my peers, a few concerns were brought up like how exactly we are gonna portray that the public is crazy, and after doing a bit of research on how other film makers have depicted this, I found inspiration in the episode "White Bear" of Black Mirror, when she wakes up and everyone seems unresponsive and in a state of trance, and all are doing the same thing. I think it would be easy to creative a scene similar to this with use of a dozen actors (whoever we can find)

3/3 shooting schedule

Hopefully Sofia and I will finally begin our process of preparation next weekend and hopefully begin shooting, i think we should split it up into 2 days of shooting, one for the entire car scene and another for her escape to the public. As for materials we need is we need casual attire for the girl,
along with some sort of Uber simulator on the iPhone, which i looked up on YouTube and found this one right here and we need to print out an Uber or Lyft symbol to tape to the car we use

As for shooting and casting I believe at most we will be needing 6-7 people 2 for the Uber scene and a couple more to showcase that the public is crazy.

3/3 Our options in terms of shots

 After  researching the most used and effective shots and camera movement in terms of scary films ive compiled this list to refer too during our  filming process so we can choose the best set up

1. Wide shot, to show figure of antagonist hiding identity yet letting audience know of their presence


2. Extreme wide shots- establish location, creates sense of isolation
We could incorporate this when our main character is taken far from civilization

3. Close ups, to help empathize with the character, we could use this when the girl is panicking

4.  High and low angles, high angle of girl so she appears hopeless, low angle of uber driver to make him appear powerful.
5.Lighting- dim and dark tones, maybe near night time

3/3 Our story board (so far)

Sofia and I are not entirely set on this idea but we were thinking of doing something along the lines of a casual girl, getting an Uber back to her house when she gets picked up by a seemingly insane man, who doesn't want to let her out of his car, locking the door, acting manic, and persistently telling the girl she is safe with him and that the outside is dangerous. The girl gets very scared and tries to leave, assuming something very bad will happen to her if she stays. She jumps out of the car only to realize that he wasn't insane and everyone around her has gone insane.

The Outline

Scene 1- Girl waiting outside of school for Uber, hops in casually until she realizes something is off with her driver
Scene 2- Driver makes wrong turn, goes way above speed limit driving towards forrest area (near highway 27)
Scene 3- Girl gets scared banging on window, and finally when he slows down she gets out and runs
Scene 4- Girl approaches public, begging for help thinking hes after her, but the public is really the one after her

I drew this image as a reference to what kind of shot i want from the girls POV, one where she can see his eyes but not his whole face, which creates an ominous atmosphere, also puts viewers in her shoes.

As for location I wanted it to be at Cypress, we can film her getting her uber, a seemingly normal day and film her at a wide shot getting into the car, and as they drive away, as for the location she gets dropped off at i was thinking some area close to the public but not too crowded, so maybe vista or markham?

3/3 More Research

So Ive been watching some behind the scenes footage from a few different horror movies, and ive found some inspiration for our film opening.

After watching the behind the scenes footage of Annabelle on Youtube, I have realized a few techniques we can incorporate in our film opening.
First of all I noted from most of their scenes they appeared to be a perfectly normal and typical family as portrayed in this movie still

The fact that they seem like an average family, due to their work attire and their small child enhances the scary aspects of the movie because it victimizes the average family, which creates a sense of terror as viewers are able to put themselves in their shoes.

We could incorporate this into our intro by making our main characters appear as an average citizen in every day casual attire.

Another film ive been researching is the Blair Witch Project, ive been particularly interested in their camera movement techniques, which is all mostly handheld this is a very interesting approach because it personalizes what you are watching rather than taking a traditional approach, maybe something we can also incorporate?

I also have been researching ways that we can make a horror movie that actually initiates a reaction in our viewers, i came across this article where they discuss the neurocinematics of horror movies where they explore ways fear can be evoked through film. I am definitely gonna look more into this!

2/24 Planning

Planning
Now that we have set on the genre we can finally begin planning! Me and Sofia are both extremely excited to begin this journey together.
Characters
I dont think we are gonna need too many people for our opening film, maybe 6-8 people max, but I will have to further discuss that with Sofia. We are gonna start browsing our options in terms of possible actors in our film opening.
Technology and Technical Elements
As for technology goes, Sofia and I are planning on renting equipment to film our opening when the time comes. Also in Black Mirror they have extreme technological advancements in many of their episodes, the question of if we are gonna incorporate this into our film opening hasnt been answered yet, but is definitely something up for consideration. As for post production goes, our full story board isnt complete yet but I would imagine we will need a few effects added depending on which route we are gonna take but after researching a few different post production editing software options like Premiere Pro, and this website called Movavi which adds very cool effects to videos. 

2/24 Getting Started

Debating the Genre

Jeez it feels like forever since I've updated this blog but I am beyond excited to see how this is all gonna turn out! After comparing comedy vs horror me and my partner Sofia are set on horror  because we both love the genre and after researching online we came to the conclusion that there are many ways we could go about this. Considering there are many sub-genres of horror, it was difficult at first to pin point which route exactly we wanted to take. At first I was set on comedic parody horror, inspired by The Haunted House but after researching their common conventions, such as extreme exaggerations and almost impossible jump scares
EX-


  I think it would be hard to mimic this type of exaggerated humor and ultimately would be pretty difficult to create a enticing film opening that would appeal to all viewers sense of humor considering everyone has a subjective opinion on what is funny and what is not.
Plot Ideas 
After further discussing this with Sofia we both came to the agreement of a Psychological thriller! This is essentially a type of horror that uses mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle viewers. In these types of films they typically utilize suspense, drama, action, and paranoia. This is a more realistic route to take because we don't need to add difficult paranormal effects post production since it is based in modern times. Me and Sofia are finding great inspiration from the Netflix Series, Black Mirror, a popular psychological thriller that explores very realistic and distorted representations of reality in the future. They also utilize great suspense to develop the plot and keep people interested. I think Sofia and I can take a lot of notes from this show!