Midterm 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. The opening scenes of the film are technically the last in continuity with Dan being shot before the appearance of the title screen. The main issues that we understand need to be revised before our final submission are the audio, cutting, and camera quality. The audio issues stem from files being corrupted and the audio not playing after being able to recover the video. We interjected place holder sounds of people walking and running on grass to give an idea of what should be there. The second issue was the cutting of the videos as some things needed to be cut out due to unwanted noises, talking, or visuals impurities. We are planning to reshoot certain scenes with a gimbaled camera to cut down on shakiness as well. The last issue was the camera quality because of the multiple shoot dates, we were unable to use the same camera. This leads to different saturations, qualities, and audio levels. We are planning to borrow our friend's camera for the entirety of the reshoots to allow for consistently high quality.

Storyboard

Script

We decided to not have any dialogue in our script to help create a nerve-racking atmosphere as no exposition is given to the audience. This lends to our psychological thriller genre. The audience should be able to understand the film as the terrorists are the antagonists and that Dan is the protagonist. The premise our film is that Dan’s character investigated a cult/terrorist organization. The opening scene takes place further on the timeline than most of the rest of the scene. Dan is running from the terrorists and eventually is cornered and killed as the screen cuts to black.

Casting

Zachary Groome - The main reason we chose Zach to play the main antagonist was his physical appearance. Zach is 6'6" and has a lanky body type. He also has a metal plate in his arm that doesn't allow him to fully extend it which adds to his character development. The reason these are useful is to create an unsettling character.

Daniel McCarthy - Dan was chosen to play the main protagonists because of his bread. While sounding silly, the beard allows for the audience to easily distinguish him from the antagonists. A reason that he couldn't have been an extra was that his beard would be visible through the costume of the terrorists. He was also chosen because he is part of the group and was obligated to be on set while filming.

Gabriel Vasquez - Gabe was chosen as an extra because he was part of the team and his obligation to the film. He was always around for filming and also kept the costumes to ensure they weren't lost. Gabe would also be able to be available for reshoots if needed.

Shea Braune - Shea was chosen to be an extra because he was part of the team and his obligation to the film. He was always available for filming and reshoots. He was also chosen because over his height and stature which create a different but still intimidating terrorist.

Griffin Roberts - Griffin was chosen as an extra because of his flexible time schedule and eagerness to help with the film. Even though he is not part of the team he said that he would be more than willing to help with anything we needed, including reshooting.

Isabella Ocasio - "Bella" was chosen because of her initial interest in the story that we told her. She is a very patience person, which is good as she is willing to stay and film until the scene was done to the standards that the group liked.

Carter Donovan - While not in the actual film, Carter was responsible for the filming and editing of the film. Carter is part of the team but had prior commitments during the time of filming. He was able to help on set when he was able to be there by providing direction, water, and transportation for actors that did not have cars.

Scheduling

Schedule

11/2/19: Casting

11/9/19: Filming

11/16/19: Filming

11/22/19: Filming

11/23/19: Filming

12/7/19: Filming

Each filming date started at 11AM and lasted till 1PM. SO far there haven't been any delays as the Terrorists are fully covered and lets us film as long as we have Dan and Zach as the main protagonist and antagonist. Editing and all other production processes we did when the group members had time to do them.

Shot List

Scouting Locations

Urfer Park
Urfer park was our initial idea of where to film as it is a popular park in Sarasota and it has a trail that could have worked for the plot of the movie. With a majority of the film being about running through a forest, it was important for the greenery to feel full and natural and Urfer's trails easily supplied it. The reason that we did not use Urfer's Trails was because of its popularity and the pavement of the trail paths. For our scenes, we needed a trail that was dirt and an area that was almost overgrown and covered the trails because the audiences are not supposed to hear or see any kind of civilization.

Rothenbach Park
Rothenback Park is a large mostly forest trail that would allow for our crew to take advantage of. The forest is not maintained regularly and has an overgrown feel and in some parts, there is nothing but forest within view of a camera. The main issue of filming at Rothenbach is that there is no pest or animal control and because of a large lake/pond that is on the property there are a large number of alligators and snakes. Another issue was the sound, further into the park there is a waste management facility and it can be really loud and would interrupt our filming.

Arlington Park
Arlington Park was brought up briefly for a few scenes that we had in mind that ended up being cut very early on and never really materialized, but the park lacks a wooded area for us to film in and due to the larger cast that we have, we thought that filming in one location would be easier.

Red Bug Slough Preserve
Red Bug Slough Preserve is the choice we ended up making to be the location that we would film on. The preserve has this feeling of eerieness and the trails are mostly hidden from sightlines. The paths are all made up of dirt and sand. The location has very little activity and we found perfect spots for the final part of our movie. Red Bug was our initial pick for the location as one of our crew members will walk the trails frequently and noticed that it would be perfect for the ideas that we had in mind for the project.

Camera Shot Activity

High Angle

Low Angle

Canted Shot

Mid Shot

Extreme Close-up

Wide Shot

Mr. Elsbree had us take different specific camera shots to help understand the difference between some of the more trivial shots that might be common, but hard to recognize without looking for them.

Film Project Genre Research - Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th is a not-so-critically acclaimed classic horror film that takes place at a lakeside camping ground. The scene opens with an establishing shot of the main house with the camp-goers signing songs in front of a fireplace. The scene then cuts to a POV of the killer as they sneak through the bedrooms with people sleeping. As the camera cuts back to the group of singing campers it shows that two of them sneak off to "mess around" in an isolated area. The murder sneaks up and kills both of them, as the screen freezes on the girl's face as she is being murdered and cuts to black revealing the title card. This opening scene sets the events of the rest of the movie, as the campers try to figure out what happened, who is the murder, and why they are killing them.

This movie makes great use of establishing shots, POV, source music, and ambient sound. The opening shot is of the cabins from Lake Crystal with the text reading, "Camp Crystal Lake - 1958." This gives the audience a time frame and a location for the rest of the films events. The scene is split between two points of view; an omniscient camera when seeing the campers and a first-person perspective from the murder. When the campers are gathered in a lakehouse the camera is not an object that they are able to interact with, but when the camera switches to being the eyes of the murder it is interacted with as the girl throws a box at the killer. This gives the audience a great show of the murders that happen to set the rest of the events of the movie in motion. The camper's singing is a great example of source music within a movie as it is being played by the characters themselves. The music they are playing contrasts the fills mood as they are happy and relaxed before they realize they are being picked off one by one from the murder.

The opening credits for this movie come after the murder of the first two campers as the screen fades black to reveal the title card as glass shatters. The movie's soundtrack picks up as well as the iconic sounds of Jason. The credits show the producers, directors, screenplay writers, companies involved with the producing, but it does not include the actors/actresses.

Budget: $700 thousand ($1.6 million today)
Box Office: $59.8 million ($142.7 million today)
Awards: None
Nominations: Saturn Award: Best DVD/Blu-Ray Collection (2014), Mystfest: Best Film (1980), Razzie Awards: Worst Picture (1981), Razzie Awards: Worst Supporting Actress - Betsy Palmer (1981), Golden Satellite Award: Best DVD Extra (2005).

Film Project Genre Research - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The opening scene starts as the villain, Freddy Krueger, is making his now-iconic knife-ended gloves. The scene then cuts to a girl in a nightgown walking down a hallway of an industrial factory with Freddy muttering and laughing as she runs down the hall. The scene continues as the girl starts to realize that she is being followed. The girl ducks into a hiding spot, when Freddy jumps up from behind and cuts her is the stomach. The girl wakes up as her mother walks in and says that she is having a bad dream, but her nightgown is cut from where Freddy left his mark. This sets up the rest of the film as Freddy is trying to murder the teens of Elm street.

This movie makes great use of ambient noise, costume design, and close-ups. The ambient noise used in the scene amplifies the horror aspects as the sounds of the factory are eerie and create tension for the audience as they know that the girl is being hunted, furthermore the sounds of the factory hide the sounds that Freddy is making to confuse the girl into what is actually going on. The costume design in the scene is set up as Freddy is making his gloves as he is showing his weapon of choice to torment the teens within the film. The gloves set up the fact that Freddy is the villain within seconds of the film opening. After the girl wakes up, the camera gets a close up of her face, which allows the audience to see that he is sweating and breathing very heavily. This is a great example of how to portray the character's feelings from body language and the basic rules of "show don't tell."

The credits of the scene are displayed throughout including the directors, producers, and starring actors/actresses. In the shots were Freddy is constructing his gloves the film is sectioned and the credits are underneath, but as the girl starts to walk down the hallway the credits are seen in white in darker parts of the set.

Budget: $1.8 million ($4.5 million today)
Box Office: $25.5 million ($63 million today)
Awards: Avoriaz Critics Award (1985), Avoriaz Special Mention for Heather Langenkamp (1985), OFTA Film Hall of Fame: Motion Picture (2019).
Nominations: Saturn Award: Best DVD Classic Film Release (2007), Saturn Award: Best Horror Film (1985), Saturn Award: Best Performance by a Young Actor - Jsu Garcia (1985), Young Artist Award: Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Heather Langenkamp (1985), Young Artist Award: Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Johnny Depp (1985).

Film Project Genre Research - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. 1 (2010)

For this movie, the scene that is being analyzed is during the chase scene never the end of the movie. This scene is being used to look at movies capture chase sequences.

This scene follows after a character that the trio (Harry, Hermionie, and Ron) had just given them up to the Death Eaters. The scene starts with Ron complaining about how Xenophilius had snitched on the group and Harry defending his actions. The group is then confronted by a group of Snatchers (Magical Bounty Hunters) that works for the Death Eaters. The trio starts to run as the Snatchers follow them through a dense forest. After Ron is restrained, Hermionie hits Harry with a spell that disfigures his face hiding his identity from the Snatchers as the two are caught.

This scene makes great use of sound editing, ambient noise, hand-held, and Steadicam filming, and short takes. The sound used in the scene as the trio starts to run was edited so that it goes quite, with booming drums in the background, then fades the sound of the trio's feet impacting the forest's floor. The ambient noise is sounds of the forest being interacted with like twigs snapping, leaves being crushed, and again the sound of the actors running on the forest floor. Sound effects are added to the spells being cast against the trees as the Snatchers miss their targets. This scene makes great use of hand-held filming with close-ups of the actors as they run as they get shots from in front and behind. The Steadicam is used to capture the Snatcher casting spells at the trio and makes use of a crane to track the characters. The scene also uses short takes to portray the intensity of the action that is taking place as it captures each character's emotions and efforts to escape.

This scene doesn't contain any credits as it is towards the end of the film, but not the final scene.

Budget: $250 million
Box Office: $960.4 million
Awards: BAA: Best Film/TV Graphics (2012), Empire Award: Best Fantasy Movie (2011), IGN Summer Movie Award: Best Fantasy Movie (2010), MTV Movie Award: Best Villian (2011), Teen Choice Award: Choice Movie Villian (2011), Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie: Fantasy (2011), Teen Choice Award: Choice Movie Actress: Fantasy - Emma Watson (2011).
Nominations: Oscar: Best Achievement of Visual Effects (2011), Oscar: Best Achievement in Art Production (2011), BAFTA: Best Make Up & Hair (2011), BAFTA: Best Special Visual Effects (2011), Saturn Awards: Best Costume (2011), Saturn Awards: Best Fantasy Film (2011), Saturn Awards: Best Make-Up (2011), Saturn Awards: Best Special Effects (2011), Art Directors Guild's Excellence in Production Design Awards for a Fantasy Film (2011), ACCA: Best Achievement in Visual Effects (2010), BFCAA: Critics Choice Award for Fan Favorite Franchise (2013), BFCAA: Best Make-Up (2011), BFCAA: Best Visual Effects (2011), Empire Award: Best Actress - Emma Watson (2011), Gold Derby Awards: Best Visual Effects (2011), Golden Schmoes: Best Sci-Fi Movie of the Year (2010), Golden Schmoes: Best Special Effects of the Year (2010).

Film Project Genre Research - Halloween (1978)

The opening scene of the classic horror film Halloween follows a young Micheal Meyers as he stalks his older sister and her boyfriend on Halloween night. After the sister and her boyfriend go upstairs to do some "grown-up activities," Micheal follows and waits for the boyfriend to leave. Micheal then puts on a clown mask and stabs his topless sister multiple times. The scene ends as Micheal walks downstairs and out the front door to be confronted by his parents with his murder weapon in hand.

This masterpiece of an opening utilizes three techniques to build suspense: first-person POV, incidental music, and long shots. The first-person point of view in this scene follows Micheal as he stalks his sister and her boyfriend. This creates a dramatic revelation towards the end of the scene as we find out that Micheal is a kid and not an adult. This technique adds suspense as we see the killings through the unsuspected murders eyes, especially as he murders his sister and not her boyfriend (which would make a little more sense because he could have been overly protective). The POV is mixed with a long shot. The first 4:25 of the 5:00 scene is all one shot, or the editing hides the cuts very well, as Micheal watches the couple from the window, sneaks in through the kitchen to grab a knife, upstairs and collecting the clown mask, into his sisters room to kill her, and out the front door to confront his parents. This is down all without a word from Micheal. The final technique that is used to build the suspense is incidental music. The scene stars quite on a that is filled with the noise of an average suburb, but as Micheal sees his sister's lights go out there is a shrill screech that is supposed to chill the audience that follows that is followed up by a piano that starts as Micheal enters the house. The piano stops as Micheal reaches the stairs and is traded for a clock bell. As Micheal starts to stab his sister a synth starts to play and the piano returns to signal that the murderer has been born. When Micheal is reviled to be a little boy the camera starts to zoom-out and the music gets low in key with the movement of the camera.

The movie's actual first scene are the orange credits on a black background with Micheal Meyer's theme song. The credits go through the company's that own the IP, the production company, the title screen, and the actors and actresses of the film. The orange text is then traded for white as it gives the location and time (Haddonfield, Illinois. Halloween Night 1963) of the film, then it fades into the opening scene.

Budget: $325 thousand ($1.3 million today)
Box Office: $77 million ($303 million today)
Awards: Saturn Award: Best DVD/Blu-Ray Collection as part of "Halloween: The Complete Collection (2015), Saturn Awards: Best DVD/Blu-Ray Special Edition Release (2014), Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Critics Award (1979), New Generation Award (1979), OFTA Film Hall of Fame: Motion Picture (2019).
Nominations: Saturn Awards: Best Horror Movie (1979), Gold Hugo: Best Feature (1978)

Film Project Genre Research - Ghost Ship (2002)

The opening of Ghost Ship is calm and delightful, until the murder. The shot opens with a pink title and an establishing shot of the suspected Ghost Ship. The credits of the movie continue to in the big pink font. An Italian lounge singer is preforming "Senza Fine" in front of a party. The captain of the boat offers a little girl to dance, then the camera cuts to an unknown hand pulling a lever. The lever is to a wire on a spool that starts to spin very fast. The wire becomes taut, snaps across the crowd, and cuts everyone on the dance floor (except for the little girl).

The opening scene sets up the death of the passengers that will later haunt the ship that is salvaged. The ghosts in the film are vengeful and torment the crew that finds the ship, but this isn't the initially set up in the opening scene.

As stated before, the movie opens with a pink title card and an aerial establishing shot of the ship that fades into a shot that pans the party that is happening on the deck. The scene continues to use fades in between shots to convey a calm feeling while the singer starts their vocals. The rest of the scene that happens before the murder is a continuation of fading in and out of the singer, band, party-goers, and the little girl dancing with the captain. These shots give the audience a false sense of security because of the genre of the movie. This is a common opening to horror movies, the lull into a calming scene, then a specific action that sets the rest of the movies terrifying events on course. A little more than halfway through the scene see a random man's arm pull a level that is a good example of framing and building suspense. The audience doesn't know who the murder is which builds suspense from the beginning of the film. The framing in this scene is a good example of the rule of thirds as the lever takes up roughly 2/3 of the screen as it is the focus. As the spool pulls start to pull the wire, the singer's music starts to distort and becomes creepy as the audience realizes the impending doom that the party-goers are about to endure.

Budget: $20 million ($28.5 million today)
Box Office: $68.3 million ($97.4 million today)
Awards/Nominations: None

Project Selection - My Decision

I have decided to pursue my film making abilities for this project. I have found a group of people that share similar ideas and passions while having their own unique skills that would combine into a great crew to work with. Besides that group I am working with, the main reason that I chose to make a movie is my love of movies. Growing up I have always preferred to watch movies over television, reading, and the most important in this case; magazine. While it would be a new experience the magazine project would not gain enough of my attention for me to give my full effort and I don't like to give anything below that threshold.
My group is thinking of making a psychological horror. The story would be based on a reporting doing an overt (the cult knows he is a reporter) observation on a new cult that has been gaining numbers in a small town. The reporter will soon realize that they were in over their head when he figures out what the true ideas of the cult are based in, the worship of a prophet that has a supernatural ability. The film is similar to the story of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. My group and I are still flushing out the specifics but we have agreed to work within this range.
I will focus on editing and other behind the scene jobs that the film needs. Gabe will most likely write and direct. Dan will most likely film the scenes. The roles within the film that we need to cast are: Reporter, Cultists (3 or 4), and The Prophet. Our group has some ideas of who will be cast, but we have not decided on any specific person for any of the roles.

Project Selection - Film

The reasons that I would choose to make a film for my final project are my skills in video editing and my love of movies themselves. I have always been a fan of the movie making process and when I truly love a film I will spend weeks over analyzing every scene from it, for example, Lords of Dog Town, which is a story about a group of the "original " pro skaters that shaped the sport for its future success is actually a period piece that displays the disparity of the poor and wealthy of South California and the effects it has on impressionable teenagers. I want to go through the processes of creating a movie to see a different aspects and challenges that go into creating a film and how that would change my outlook of one of my favorite pass times.
I have been used video editing software before to make smaller montages of vacations and have a good understand of the basics to create an understandable path for a film to follow. After watching scenes from Newsroom and documentaries on the film-making, I understand the difficulties that film makers run into when it comes to creating a complete story in the editing room but I think that with proper planing the task shouldn't be too much to handle.
The make issue that I see happening with this project is the actual filming process. I am not very good with cameras, angles, or anything that has to do with getting the perfect shot. I would have to rely on my group to get good footage because of my inability to use the equipment needed.

Project Selection - Magazine

Choosing the magazine project would be a new experience that would be beneficial to my technical skills in photo editing. Over my high school years, I have become certified in two forms of CAD (Solidworks and Inventor), Photoshop, and Microsoft Office. While I wouldn't become certified in any new software, it would be a great chance to strengthen my photo editing skills with the inclusion of Adobe InDesign. Another positive would be the reporting. Although it wouldn't be like the Washington Post reporting on Watergate, I would love the chance to publish a magazine that had some kind of investigation behind it whether its an interview or finding a source for a topic. This hunt for the correct information is something that has always fascinated me about the news world. The best example of this is Season 2 of Newsroom when dealing with finding sources for Operation Genoa, although the final results were unethical and illegal. The idea of reporting the news through a form of media is a topic i have always wanted to try and the magazine would be a perfect opportunity to try and produce a magazine worth reading. The final interest of mine that is peaked by the magazine is designing of each page complimenting each other. When doing a magazine analysis on the Game Informer I realized how each page blended into each other with themes and designs that worked to create an entire section that was vibrant, colorful, and fit the topic extremely well (example below).