Lighting...More Artificial Than You Think

Lighting was by far the largest challenge we faced in the process of filming, especially as our film opening was meant to be set during the nighttime. Because Jacob, Chancellor, and I did not have much prior experience with lighting, it took much experimenting to get the lighting for our shots to a satisfactory level. Because of this, I thought to look into some common lighting techniques in the horror genre and how to achieve them. A feature brought up in various articles I read was the idea of obscuring light  in order to both reduce its harshness and create specific shadows surrounding the subject. Utilizing colored filters on light to influence mood of a shot, shooting in daylight and obscuring light to appear dark, and lighting from below were suggested

Although on our low budget we did not have access to expensive lighting equipment, we made do with some lamps, flashlights, various phone and computer screens, blankets/sheets, and a lot of patience. We truly learned that although lighting in film may seem natural, it often takes much artificial manipulation for lighting to appear so on camera.

Our first issue was that it was daylight when we were scheduled to begun filming, but our first shots were intended to be filmed in near-darkness. Because we wanted to be able to manipulate the daylight coming from through the window in order to ensure that our shots were visible even in darkness, we utilized a thick blanket layered over a thin blanket to cover the window. Because the thin blanket filtered the light and the thick blanket blocked much of the light, we were able to create an opening for light to pass through to our liking depending on the shot. 

Our blanket setup with the lights in the room on

The same setup with the lights in the room off

Although later in the scene Brittney is supposed to be shown in her room with the lights on, the actual lights of the room we utilized were too yellow in tinge and did not give off the creepy mood we were going for. Because none of the lighting in the house came out very well on film, lamps were very useful and easily manipulable (being able to be tilted at different angles and obscured with other objects) as a replacement. 

Setting up a lamp before filming

We wanted to create a clear tone shift when Tiffany (the killer) enters Brittney's house and finally finds her, and though to use some color theory that we have learned to emphasize this. In order to reflect this, we chose to cover a lamp with a red sheet to create the reddish, pinkish lighting we wanted to both reflect a sense of danger and violence (with the red) as well as femininity (with the pink).

Throughout filming, it was difficult to find a balance between enough light for the subject to be viewable and maintaining the illusion of darkness. Hopefully, when shown on a screen, our footage will be clearly lit and appear as we intended (otherwise we may need to re-shoot much of it).

O'Rourke, T. (2012, October 1). Horror Film Lighting On a Budget. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from https://www.videomaker.com/article/c13/15436-horror-film-lighting-on-a-budget

Renée, V. (2016, October 27). 8 Spooky Lighting Techniques You Can Use in Your Horror Film. Retrieved March 26, 2018, from https://nofilmschool.com/2016/10/8-spooky-lighting-techniques-you-can-use-your-horror-film

Risk, M. (2018, March 06). How to Use Color in Film: 50 Examples of Movie Color Palettes. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/

Purchased Props

Before we began filming, we had some items that we had in mind to use as props in order to add to our set design. Although we didn't originally have these items, Jacob, Chancellor, and I took a trip to the store to buy a curling brush, a personal mirror, and some ingredients for fake blood. I'm sure three teenage boys looked perfectly normal buying all of this together.

The weapon Tiffany would use to attack Brittney, (while possibly not as consequential as we treated it) was a contentious topic among our group because it would effect both what we would film and how we would film the attack. We wanted an item that would typically be used by teenage girls and distort it as a weapon without having to utilize a large stretch of the imagination. A curling brush seemed dangerous enough on its own, with sharp bristles and a metallic center, and we believe that it could believably be dangerous if used with force. Among our other options for weapons were an eyelash curler, an eyeliner pencil, and a cellphone charging cable, but we felt like this was the least absurd of the choices while still driving home our emphasis on the dangers of vanity.

Tiffany's weapon of choice

The second item we wanted was a personal mirror. In our storyboard we planned a shot of Brittney (the victim) putting on makeup in a mirror. Especially because of issues with the camera potentially showing up in the shot if we filmed using a large mirror, we decided to purchase this small mirror to use alternatively. We were advised that filming such a mirror shot diagonally may help the camera not be seen in the shot, and we plan on following that advice. If we end up not having to use this personal mirror for the shot, at least we have an additional prop to emphasize Tiffany's self-absorption and vanity among other props like makeup. 

A personal mirror

In our last shot, we plan to show the curling brush and a cellphone covered in blood to represent the idea that Brittney has been attacked brutally by Tiffany. In nearly every recipe for fake blood we found online, corn syrup and food coloring (specifically red, blue, and green food coloring) were key ingredients. Although we will only use this fake blood in one shot, because it is the last shot of our film opening, we would like to leave an impression on the audience with a hint of the gore that is to come later in the film. In one of my upcoming blog posts I'll detail the process of making the fake blood and the shot we are able to produce from this.

Corn syrup and food coloring, key ingredients in our fake blood mixture

Sakugawa, Y., Yasumi, H., & Scott, S. (2017, October 20). How to Make Realistic-Looking Fake

Blood. Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://thesecretyumiverse.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-realistic-looking-fake-blood-0133528/

Finished Storyboard!

Although our storyboard may be crudely drawn, it is a much-needed basis for our filming going forward. After much debate on the direction of our film opening, I am glad my group has come to agreement on the proper shots, angles, and composition to convey our message. In the past, I have received criticism that my films needed to include a greater variety of shots and angles, and I hope the shots and angles we are utilizing will help portray the plot in a clear and meaningful way. 

An issue I feel like we might run into is not being able to properly shift the mood of the film opening after the title card plays and the setting changes. We wanted to include parallelism in our shots to give an audience the sense that both girls are similar in personality and desires (of validation, acceptance, and popularity); especially in shots which could be indicative of a focus on appearances (like applying makeup) we chose to similarly shoot both Tiffany (the protagonist/ murderer) and Brittney (her victim). Another concern I have is if we will be able to properly convey this "hot and cold" stalking scene, where Tiffany attempts to locate Brittney by listening for the sound of phone notifications. Recording sounds from varying distances and adding sound effects (through foley and credited free music archives) should be a considerable part of our work in the editing process.

Darkness is going to play an integral part in our film opening, and we may face difficulties lighting our shots because of this. Experimenting with lighting and shots should be integral in our success.  My main concern is that the mood of our film will be inconsistent with our vision. Hopefully we will be able to find a good balance between comedic social criticism and suspense.

Distributing on a Budget

Although production on our film opening seems to be our sole concern, productions cannot often find widespread success without research into effective distribution of the film. Due to the fact that our film opening is clearly produced on a low budget, we would pursue appropriate distribution methods. Especially with a target audience of teenagers and young adults (many of whom consume much digital media), it may be wise to seek digital distribution for our film.  

In the article "Finding Distributors for Your Low-Budget Horror Film" from Videomaker Magazine, it is explained that in order to have your film distributed by large Video on Demand services (like iTunes), one must work with Aggregators; Aggregators offer a method of distribution to large digital distributors but require a fee or percentage of profits in advance. Securing a digital distributor would possibly prove difficult (with distributors such as Netflix and Hulu now shifting toward high budget productions with much oversight from the distributors), but if these digital distributors were willing to entertain independent film makers, this could be a good option. 

Justin Schwarz and Laura Kleger, creators of the independent film "The Discoverers", recommended a traditional, smaller scale route to film distribution in an article about the strategies they used for distribution; through crowd-sourced funding on websites like Kickstarter, they were able to raise over $100,000 for the purpose of distribution. According to the creators of "The Discoverers", due to a focus on regions where the film had exposure at festivals and had many people within their target demographic, their film "played in more than 25 cities, was in movie theaters for nearly six months and garnered great press." 

If we were unable to find a willing distributor initially, digital self-distribution, distribution at regional film festivals, and grassroots marketing (utilizing social media and reaching out to individual film reviewers) could publicize the film to the point where larger distributors were willing to pick up the project. Even though many dream of immediately finding box office success and creating buzz across Hollywood, a more realistic goal for amateur filmmakers is finding a local or online audience to consume their films.

Whether we chose to self-distribute and take the burden of marketing on ourselves or seek a willing large/small-scale distributor to work with an possible lose profits but gain an audience would largely depend on our distribution budget and initial audience reception. Digital distribution through an Aggregator seems the most feasible and fitting for our film; it seems to appeal to the digital consumption habits of teenagers, require less-intense spending than traditional distribution, and give us more options on distributors to work with.

Schwarz, J., & Kleger, L. (2016, May 28). Attention, Filmmakers: Here's How to Self-Distribute Your Film. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from http://www.indiewire.com/2014/12/attention-filmmakers-heres-how-to-self-distribute-your-film-66885/

Siegel, J. (n.d.). Finding Distributors for Your Low-Budget Horror Film. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.videomaker.com/article/c12/17035-finding-distributors-for-your-low-budget-horror-film

Scheduling is Hard

Our schedule has unfortunately met multiple delays due to issues finding actors who are available for filming on the same dates as us and securing a filming location. Creating a filming with so many constraints is proving difficult. One of our actors dropped out because of her schedule becoming busy and another was only available on days which conflicted with our schedule; we have had to replace both actresses, but it has been very detrimental to our ability to shoot the film opening. Although we are just utilizing amateur actors, I have found that the success and length of time production of a film takes often hinges on scheduling. Especially with highly character-based stories, it is not very easy to work around actors' lack of availability.

Filming Schedule

3/29- Begin filming

3/30- Continue filming

3/31- Continue filming/ Begin editing (as needed)

We'll have to speed up the editing process due to our delayed filming, but let's hope for the best.

Group Meeting Insights

Today, I was given the opportunity to get the opinions and critiques of my peers concerning the work I have done on my film opening so far. Although it was difficult to explain my ideas coherently as I spoke to my group, I was luckily able to receive many valid and enlightening criticisms of the work Chancellor, Jacob, and I have done.

The group that I met with came to a consensus on various changes which (I tend to agree) would improve my film opening. 

Two of my group members were also working on film openings in the horror genre, and this was very valuable to gaining constructive criticism. All of my group members tended to agree that including more elements of horror immediately in the film would allow it to more closely reflect the intended genre. Especially in the introduction of the protagonist, they believed not enough suspense would have been created without the inclusion of more tension during the opening sequence. They agreed that certain aspects we had thought of, such as Tiffany searching for Britney utilizing the sound of social media notifications, was interesting and would properly build suspense. 

The issue with the feedback Jacob and I received was that the students in his critique group seemed to believe the polar opposite of what my group members thought. While mine believed we needed more horror elements and less introduction of the protagonist, his group believed we should not even reveal any killings by the protagonist in our film opening at all; instead, they believed our introduction of the protagonist should be expanded upon. Chancellor's group seemed to like our ideas as they are, leaving us at a crossroad. 

The idea that all groups agreed upon in their advice is that our plan to begin filming on March 24 was too soon. Our group members told us that filming a mock film opening using ourselves rather than the real actors would be beneficial to our planning and refining of cinematographic techniques.

Which advice we decide to take will truly shape our production. 

Tiffany and Britney

Before we start to look into casting, it is important to define and outline our characters. Chancellor, Jacob, and I have discussed the physical and personality traits we envision for our protagonist, Tiffany, and her victim, Britney. We especially wanted to stay away from the trope of a creepy loner that is obsessed with a popular peer. In order to do so, we want to make it clear to the audience that both characters occupy an equal social status. Additionally, both characters have a similar habits of social media, but Tiffany's obsession clearly plays out in a more exaggerated and unrealistic way in our film opening.

By emphasizing aspects such as vanity and desire for popularity, we believe that social commentary will be more impactful and clear to the audience. Even by their names alone, it can be inferred that both girls hold stereotypical teenage, feminine roles; although this plays into the audience's preconceptions on teenage girls, this portrayal serves as a vehicle for the commentary. Both characters are supposed to be around 17 years old, which places them at an age clearly within teenage years, but also old enough to appeal to a more mature audience.

The typical image of a popular girl we had was a blonde, bossy girls, which I must say has been highly influenced by stereotypical portrayals of girls in the media. Often, teenage girls are placed given labels based on their physical appearance, with aspects such as hair color serving as arbitrary indicators of  personality. As we plan to satirize these ideas in our film opening, we want to emphasize the ridiculousness of these negative stereotypes. According to a study conducted under the
International Central Institute for Youth and Educational Television, men are disproportionately represented as protagonists in television due to the belief that men are more relatable to both men and women than women are. Especially among viewers of "slasher" films, this belief in female disinterest in the genre is prevalent. In order to increase the potential female audience of our film and the horror genre overall, I believe it is important to subvert these gender norms.

Media and Girls. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2018, from http://mediasmarts.ca/gender-representation/women-and-girls/media-and-girls

Nowell, R. (2011). Blood money: a history of the first teen slasher film cycle. New York: Continuum.

Script Writing and Stereotypical Representation

Although our group worked together to brainstorm ideas for dialogue, I was mainly tasked with writing the script for our film opening. Because we wanted to incorporate elements of satire and comedy in our film opening, I attempted (perhaps poorly) to include jokes and exaggerated (stereotypical) language. It was difficult, as a teenager who has seen many poor representations of my generation in media, to add to this trend; however, I felt that this representation was justified by the need for social commentary about vanity, the need to fit in, and the desire for validation through social media in our society. 

In the Netflix-original show, 13 Reasons Why,  high school students depicted in a stereotypical manner, with over-generalizations about the actions and motivations of teenagers heavily influencing the plot of the show. High school students are represented as conniving, cruel people in many cases, and this often hinges on desire for acceptance. While I believe portraying characters like this is important, in the drama genre it feels insincere and inaccurate. 

13 Reasons Why (2017)

Due to our film opening purposely seeking out to feature over-exaggeration and social commentary (without the same seriousness of the drama genre), I believe representing teenage characters in a negative light to emphasize our message about social media is appropriate. Teenage girls are often seen as social media-obsessed in modern times; playing on this common conception could attract a broader audience to watch our film and be exposed to our social commentary. 

The draft of our script (the narrator is the protagonist, Tiffany)

The script is just a draft at this point, and I am definitely planning on revising and improving upon it as we continue work on the film opening. We may face some difficulty in deciding how to match our shots with the narration. 

[13 Reasons Why]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/13-reasons-why-1519414203.jpg?crop=0.625xw:0.469xh;0.225xw,0.0984xh&resize=4098:*

Beginning a Rough (Looking) Storyboard

We were finally able to put some our ideas into action as we started work on our storyboard today. Although this is definitely a rough (and not the most artistic) representation of our plans, it will help us have a general idea of how we should compose shots. The portion of the storyboard we have created is meant to represent the first portion of our film opening. This part of the opening will establish the main character (a social media-obsessed, popular, vain teenage girl). The name we decided on for this character is Tiffany; although the basis for this name is mostly based on what we felt would constitute as a "popular girl name", we also conferred with other students around our age and concluded that many would typically associate this name with the characteristics we had in mind.

The beginning of our storyboard

We wanted to start our film opening with a visually-interesting shot which would immediately give viewers insight into the main character's overuse of social media and its importance to her. In order to accomplish this in the first shot, we thought an over-the-shoulder shot of with Tiffany (in the lower third) staring at various devices (each with a different social media website showing) would serve to purposely overwhelm viewers. The next shot would display Tiffany from a low angle with the blue light of computer screens reflecting off of her face; this close-up, high angle shot would introduce Tiffany in an imposing and (hopefully) creepy or interesting manner. We may change the shot following this, but an important feature we would like to maintain is the introduction of her distinct bracelet. This accessory will be important by hinting to the audience that she is the killer later in the film opening.

An extreme close-up on Tiffany's eyes, with the screens she is staring at reflecting off of her glasses, would accompany the beginning of Tiffany's non-dietetic narration; she is judgmentally reviewing the social media profiles of other popular people she knows in order to place them in her popularity hierarchy. A close-up shot of Tiffany repeatedly refreshing the social media "feed" on a phone my swiping down with her finger would then be shown. A shot from the side of Tiffany putting on makeup only to post a picture online is meant to to emphasize her obsession with social media image. From the "point-of-view" of Tiffany's front-facing cell phone camera, Tiffany would be shown taking many "selfies" with exaggerated and clearly faked emotion. A medium shot of Tiffany showing both her and her phone would display a notification that she has been "unfollowed" by another popular girl. Prior to this, Tiffany would narrate that this popular girl only "unfollows" "losers". Tiffany would react in shock, scream, and a fast zoom (as typically seen in many horror movies) would emphasize her (unwarranted) dread upon seeing this notification.

We are first establishing the main character, then hinting at her motivation for murder (the fact that her superficial friend "unfollowed" her social media account); this is intentionally ridiculous as a critique of the weight teenagers and young adults put on social media attention in the New Media Age. Following this portion of the film opening, we intend to shift the atmosphere of the film opening from a one of satire into one more reminiscent of horror and thriller films. 

Social Media Social Criticism

After much back-and-forth about whether we should integrate allegory into our film opening, I was able to utilize much of the research I have done to justify my viewpoint (supporting the viability of creating a social thriller/horror film opening) to Chancellor and Jacob.

Horror and thrillers often reflect the fears and insecurities of a time period, and I believe through a genre such a social horror, individuals can be prompted to think more critically about the state of society.

In the early 19th century, the rise of scientific discovery and experiment came to challenge deeply held religious views of the time and worry many pious people. It was said that science would even go as far as to directly challenge God's will, with the reversal of death often being discussed as one way science could corrupt man and lead society astray. In her novel Frankenstein (1818), Mary Shelley represented the concerns of the people through metaphor; although this novel and ensuing film adaptation are in the science-fiction genre, I believe it brings to light the idea that social criticism can make a piece of media much more impactful and long-lasting.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

My group-mates and I have decided that social media, while often criticized by adults in modern society, is not nearly as critically considered by youth. As teenagers who have grown up surrounded by the Internet and the rise of social media in popular culture, I believe we often view the vanity and need for validation created through constant sharing of photos and desire for "likes" as normal.

A recent film I have seen which masterfully comments on societal fixation on public image in relation to social media is Ingrid Goes West (2017).

Ingrid Goes West (2017) is a drama/comedy film which centers around the attempts of its protagonist, Ingrid, to gain the same type of popularity she admires of social media celebrities by completely emulating their lifestyles. This film quickly emphasizes the strangeness of such behavior by having its protagonist take drastic measures in order to achieve her goal of societal acceptance (including buying a house next to the admired social media celebrity and artificially setting up scenarios in which they "accidentally" meet).

Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Both the style and content of this film stood out to me, and I especially enjoyed the subversion of typical "stalker" movies (which was used pointedly to create sympathy for those who desperately desire attention and acceptance on social media). Rather than feature a frightening man obsessed with a beautiful woman (as is the case for many of these types of films), the inclusion of two women as the protagonists of the film helped maintain the clarity of the social commentary (rather than muddle it with possible audience interpretations of romantic obsession).

A convention this film follows that I would like to make different in my group's film opening is that I would like for both protagonists to be teenage girls of similar popularity (rather than the social outcast-popular girl dynamic in Ingrid Goes West (2017)). Because I would like to touch on the theme of teenage feelings of insecurity and desire for a feeling of popularity derived from social media "hits", and much of this social media support is provided to teenage girls from other teenage girls in my group's anecdotal observations, I believe this would be appropriate.

Tragedy Girls (2017)

In looking into any other examples of my group's idea to create a "slasher" based on a female protagonist serving "revenge" to those who have not given her the social media validation she desires, our group found the trailer for a horror/comedy film called Tragedy Girls (2017) which intrigued us. Unlike our idea, Tragedy Girls (2017) focuses on two girls who murder others together and create blog posts about the "mystery" of these killings for social media publicity; however, the film seems to feature clever black comedy to mock the ridiculousness of the views of some on social media, which we would also like to employ.

"Slashers" especially appeal to a teenage audience, so by balancing suspense, satire, and horror I believe we can cater this film to a target audience of middle class 13-18 year-olds. Who knows, this could be the start of the next teenage cult classic (à la Mean Girls (2004)).

Ball, P. (2017, April 20). 'Frankenstein' Reflects the Hopes and Fears of Every Scientific Era. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/04/franken-science/523560/

MacIntyre, T. (Director). (2017). Tragedy Girls [Video file]. United States: Gunpowder & Sky. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GmFP7pfz1U

Spicer, M. (Director). (2017). Ingrid Goes West [Video file]. United States: Neon. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP4vD1tWbPU

Universal Studios. (n.d.). [Promotional photo of Boris Karloff from The Bride of Frankenstein as Frankenstein's monster.]. Retrieved March 7, 2018, from http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Karloff,%20Boris/Karloff,%20Boris%20(Bride%20of%20Frankenstein,%20The)_01.jpg

A Schedule for Success

In order to produce consistent, high quality work, I believe it is imperative to create a plan or schedule. Because of the lacking urgency of deadlines, it could become easy for us to delay filming without a schedule, which could be detrimental to the depth of our production choices. Jacob, Chancellor, and I have discussed which dates work best for our personal schedules, realistic time frames for various aspects of production, and how our individual contributions should reflect on the schedule.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
3/5-3/11	Research genre and striking films within this genre	Speak with group on genre and direction of film opening, create blog post	Create blog post on genre inspiration	Start working on storyboard with group.	Write a blog post about beginning plans for shots, angles, and composition		Research characters typical of our genre choice
3/12-3/18	Discuss and outline character personalities and appearances,	Begin writing script, ideally finish draft of script,	Finalize script, research the casting process and casting within our genre, Create blog post about script	Discuss agreed upon vision for characters and set design with group	Write blog post about characters and set design	Cast actors for our film opening	Create blog post reflecting on casting experiences and justifications for chosen actors
3/19-3/25	Create filming schedule, work with group to ensure we agree on our ideas and execution	Write blog post	Location scouting, gather supplies needed for film opening, ensure all filming equipment is functioning well	Create blog post on set design and costume design		Begin filming, create a blog post about the first filming day	Continue filming
3/26-4/1	Create blog post	Continue filming (if necessary)	Begin editing film opening and examine existing footage for possible reshoots	Alter ideas for shots which did not turn out well, create blog post		Reshoot footage which we felt was unsatisfactory, create blog post	Edit reshot footage, continue editing film opening overall
4/2-4/8		Create blog post on editing process	Finish editing on film opening, tweak it as a group until satisfied	Watch completed film opening multiple times, plan general outline for reflection, write blog post	Begin work on the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR)	Continue work on CCR, create a blog post	Rewatch existing CCR footage, change CCR appropriately
4/9-4/14	Create blog post concerning CCR revisions	Finish work on CCR	Look over CCR, review for inconsistencies, correct any issues		Post completed film opening and CCR		Project due

As to allow for a degree on spontaneity in some of my postings, I have decided to not plan all blog post topics in advance. This should give me the flexibility to write about pressing matters or issues that arise before, during, or after production of the film opening. This schedule certainly isn't set in stone; if any issues or differences between planning and practice arise, these plans can be moved around.