Final Submission

The only major revision we wanted to make from our 3rd Quarter Submission and our Final Submission was adding a couple of shots at the end that would show Dan walking up to a house and having someone answer the door. This would have established that the chase scene was a flashforward and most of the film would take place before Dan's death. The reason that we wanted to do this is to have the focus of the film be based on finding out who the terrorists are and what they are trying to do.
The reason we could not make this final revision is due to the COVID-19 pandemic because we would have to break quarantine, CDC guidelines, and social distancing. Our scene would have had our actors within a 6-foot distance of each other.

Creative Critical Reflection

Creative Critical Reflection #4 - Technological Incorporation

The main technological aspects of our film making processes were the use of editing software, using a drone, and the use of multiple cameras.

Editing Software

To edit this the project, we used different editing software; ShotCut and Adobe Premier. For our first submission for the midterm, I realized that I did not have Adobe Premier installed on my computer and didn’t have time to install it. shortcut was the only editing software that I had, and I did its job perfectly fine. The only issue that we ran into was that it crashed semi-frequently, but no work was lost because of these crashes. For the third quarter submission, I had installed Premier and was able to recreate the film with the revisions intakes, titling, and audio.

Drones

The use of The drones were really interesting in this film. We initially didn’t know how to add drone shots into the film, until we started flying and saw the entire preserve and decided that it would be great for an opening credits shot. We had about 6 minutes of drone footage but decided to only use the one clip. Another interesting idea we had was to use the drone as a gimble because of the stabilization feature. This was used in our midterm submission for the long take that tracks Dan. We decided that we really like the idea but the drone camera as unable to get audio. We reshot the scene using another camera and a gimble to get the Steadicam effect.

Multiple Cameras

The use of multiple cameras was not a planned idea, but out of necessity. The cameras we used were a Canon EOS Rebel T7I, an iPhone 7+, and a drone camera. The Canon Rebel gave the best quality, but also was a very load camera. What I mean is that the camera lenses were very loud when focusing. This makes sense as the Rebel is meant for picture taking and not videos. We decided to reshoot the shots that needed replacing due to camera sounds with an iPhone 7+. This was due to the easy of recording and the use of a gimble made for phones. The drone camera was the default camera from the DJI Phantom. This camera didn’t record audio, so we used it for aerial shots that we could play sound effects or music over.

Creative Critical Reflection #3 - Production Skills

   Before starting this film project, I had a decent amount of experience with editing. My friend and I have been making videos based around playing videogames. He would record his gameplay and I would do a significant amount of the editing.  This helped designate me as the editor for this project. Besides editing, I didn’t have much experience in the film making process and was relying on my group to work together to form a decent film, which they did.

   During the project, I had learned a lot of new techniques for camera work. I personally don’t like being in front camera, so naturally, I opted into being the cameraman for most of the shots. When starting I didn’t realize that lighting is a pain in the neck! The filming process was weird because there were some shots that we wanted to get, but because we filmed on location, we couldn’t get the proper lighting needed for the shot. Some of these issues were backlighting that caused silhouettes, inconsistency with sunlight between scenes, and timeframe for filming. Because of these lighting issues, we had to work on two important parts of creating a film: Scheduling and positioning. We scheduled our filming times for 12PM-3PM and reshoots were normally from 12PM-2PM. These time frames allowed us to get the footage we needed, while also giving me time to edit that day. Positioning was harder to work on because we were filming in nature. This meant that I would have to be within bushes and be following Dan to get the shots we needed. Altogether, camera work was the skill that I increased the most because I had very little experience when starting and now, I feel comfortable with using a camera and how to create a better shot using these techniques.

   Other skills that I had developed during the project, but I felt like we're more of second hand or learning from my group, were directing actors and production design. For the most part, Gabe was the director in the traditional definition as he would tell us a general idea of what we needed. Of course, Dan, Shea, and I would step in and give advice based on acting, camera work, and human ability, but for the most part, Gabe taught me a lot about how to portray storytelling. Dan helped with the production design of the film. He was the one that found our film location at Redbug Slough Preserve and the trails that we used to film on. We didn’t alter the location much as we wanted to portray an “overgrown” look. Altogether, I didn’t use these skills as much but have developed them as Gabe and Dan took part in building both of these skills.

   Ultimately, I learned a lot about the production processes of a film from this project. My skills continuously increased as we shot and edited new parts or reshoots of the scene. My greatest skill would be editing, but the camera work is my most improved. The skills I learned about, although not doing much of, are production design and directing through my group.

Creative Critical Reflection #2 - Marketing and Distribution

   Our film, “Masks,” is going to be marketed very close to the way that the original Halloween was going to be marketed. The goal is to build intrigue for the film by having our promotional material be based on the gas masks and the word “Masks.” The goal of this style of marketing was to have people ask questions about what the movie is about. Another tactic we looked at for the marketing would be to take inspiration from The Dark Knight and make realistic material that would be seen in the film and use it as the promotion. The Dark Knight used political campaign ads that had graffiti to show the Joker's presence. We planned on having fake graffiti (made in Photoshop) made that said creepy phrases that would allow for the goal of the terrorists to be seen. The phrases would be similar to, “The gas kills all,” or “The masks are here to protect.” As the terrorists are planned to use chemical warfare in the film. Another film that is outside of the psychological drama/horror genre was Kingsman. He looked at that series so that we could understand how to market digitally. What we learned is that constantly posting is not a good idea, but by posting semi-frequently and posts that are interactive help to build hype around a film’s release. Here are some examples of posters we have made for the marketing:

   The distribution plan for our film would follow the traditional style of distribution by meeting with a production house such as Blumhouse or Lionsgate. These production companies are known for their horror films and would help fund the creation and distribution of the film process. We would want a normal theater distribution in October to emphasize the genre as a horror film and have the film be in theaters for four to five weeks. After the film stops playing in theaters then we wait ninety days for a Blu-Ray/DVD release. The final goal for our distribution plan is to get out the movie on a major streaming service like Netflix or to sell the licensing rights to a company like HBO or Showtime. The first option is more likely to pay an upfront check for a multiple movie lease, and Netflix is known to buy films for as little as one hundred thousand dollars. The latter option is where a company buys the right to use your film and then they license it to other streaming services for a price. HBO does this by having a subscription process for their applications and websites, but they also have an add-on for apps like Amazon and Hulu for $10. This route seems more profitable and easier access for fans of the film.

Creative Critical Reflection #1 - Conventions

   Our film used a good mixture of both using and challenging conventions within the film industry. A convention we used for the camera work within our film was the use of mostly wide-shots during the chase scenes. This helps establish both Dan as a character by allowing the audience to see him, his costume, and his range of motions during the chase and the environment he is in. The film that we took inspiration from was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. This is inspiration comes wide-shots within the scene giving more of a description of the location and the characters involved. In Harry Potter that does use a lot of mid-shots within that scene, but that was to create a hectic atmosphere because the characters in that story were already established. We chose to use wide-shots because we understood that the audience would not know where or who Dan was, and by giving them a little more information on the environment and his body movement it would allow for them to understand that he is being chased through a somewhat unknown environment.

   An example of a challenge to conventions is seen in close-up on Dan’s foot as he runs by the camera. This is unconventional as most close-ups are on a person’s face and not their foot unless it was an important part of the plot (which it isn’t). Some would argue that this shot is actually an insert, but the point of the shot is to introduce Dan and not show an object. This scene was included because we wanted an interesting open for Dan and allow it to be somewhat startling as well.

   An example of a convention within editing is the use of the short takes. Most shots within the actual chasing are considered short takes with only two takes being more than five seconds. This was to create a sense of speed. These frequent cuts allowed Dan to travel from one area to the next to establish that Dan is faster than he is really running. Another reason for the short takes to slowly introduce the terrorists in the background. The goal was to have the presence of the masked individuals continue to increase until the end. The examples of short take chase scenes we were inspired by were from Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and 28 Weeks Later.

   An example of the challenging of conventions within our editing is the Steadicam tracking long take. This takes breaks the use of stationary short takes for the following camera shot that lasts nearly twenty seconds. The reason for this shot was to slow the pace of the chase a little bit and show that Dan was getting tired. This change in Dan’s stamina gives a sense of realism as Dan slowly starts to lose. The point of the loss of stamina it to give the audience the impression that Dan is going to lose.

   An example of conventional sound usage is the sound effects at the end of the scene. At the end of the scene, we see the terrorists shoot Dan with a cut to black and birds screeching. The point of this was to establish a sense of realism as nature would be disturbed by the loud noise. When finding a sound effect for the gun we wanted to use one that had a lot of echoing. We felt like it allowed for the gun shoot to set in for the audience and when pair with birds to help give a sense that Dan was dead. An example of this can be seen in Breaking Bad when Hank is shot in the desert the noise from the gun echoes to establish his death.

   An example of challenging the conventional use of sound is that there is no incidental music during the chase. Most chase scenes, on-foot or in a car, have incidental music playing to help increase the intensity of the chase. We decided to leave the music out of the scene to help give a sense of what Dan was going through in the scene. The sounds of nature and Dan running are what we tried using to build tension for the audience.

   An example of the conventional use of mise-en-scene is seen in the costuming for the terrorist. Our goal was to make the terrorist stand out from Dan, even though he is wearing the same outfit. The masks are supposed to intrigue the audience and differentiate the terrorist from Dan. This is seen in most films to help the audience understand a fight. In Harry Potter, the Snatchers are wearing torn clothes and in Breaking Bad the White Supremacists are wearing leather and slicked-back hair. These are to help determine Harry and his friends and Hank and his partner from the rest of the characters.

   An example of challenging the conventions of mise-en-scene was by not controlling the lighting. In different scenes, there are different amounts of light and this was done to show a passage of time. This shows that Dan had been running for a while as the Sun went from the bright dawn to the morning light, to the sun being perfect at noon. This was done mistakenly, but we realized how it worked perfectly for us. Normally, when filming this would be done on purpose or would be controlled to have the chase be all at the same time, but we decided that it was possible for us to control it and it ended up being a really detail part of our film.
   Our film represents two social groups; people and terrorists. In our film, we wanted to make a clear divide between the people as represented by Dan and the terrorists who are the actors wearing gas masks. Within the scene the only actor that the demographics can be taken from is Dan. Dan is supposed to play the early twenties, white, male, investigative report that had joined the cult-like terrorist organization to uncover the truth behind their masks.

Third Quarter Submission

Masks is a psychological thriller that takes place in an unknown wooded area. Our protagonist played by Daniel McCarthy is running from a group of masked figures. This scene is chronologically the last of the film as the film is about Dan investigating the cult that is chasing him. In our original post for the midterm, we mentioned that we had issues with the audio, cutting, and camera quality. We were able to fix the issues with audio and the cutting. The audio issue came from the camera that we were using that had a broken microphone. The cutting issue can from the original editing software that we were using, ShotCut. We were able to fix the software for this submission and my group and I are trying to get a better editing software. The camera quality issue is still present as we don't have reliable access to a camcorder with consistent quality. We used an iPhone 7+ for the reshooting. Besides the issue of camera quality, the only other issue we faced was the use of audio. For this submission, we used a royalty-free song during the beginning, but we are working on creating incidental music for the scene.