Film Scheduling

For this blog i have scheduled my days to film my opening. Below is a sample of the filming and editing schedule that I would like to follow but may be subject to change.


March 30th: Film as much as possible, try to film everything, have SD card available to put into my phone so that I can check for continuation if I need to redo one of my scenes.

March 31st: Review footage and see if shots are up to expectations and line up to my storyboard

April 1st: Re shoot anything if necessary and be continuous to set design from 2 nights before

April 2-4: Try to have everything edited and ready for review from some friends to see if I need to polish anything else


*throughout the process I want to take some behind the scenes shots of the whole filming and editing of the movie

Font

So for the font, I am trying to decide which one would work best for my film. I want to capture the essence of crime and boldness to engage audiences better than other fonts.

Here are some of the ones I have in mind: The one i decided on was this one:

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

Shadows in Plain Sight

The one i decided on was this one:

Shadows in Plain Sight

I went with this font because it just fits and is simple yet bold enough to capture a reader's attention.

Title for my Film

So the title for my movie originated by many factors I took into consideration. Some of the most important ones are that it should be original, captivating, and different. The reason for these necessities are that this will engage my target audience by spoon-feeding the title in a way that it would attract people through mystery in the name of the title. This is done by something obscure that ties into the plot later in the film. My movie title is "Shadows in Plain Sight". The reason why I chose this title is because the illegality can be portrayed by having the essence of a fake reality in the real world to contrast the lightheartedness at the end of the opening when they realise it was not just a game, it was a crime; a crime they must now hide from, hence the title being shadows amongst society. The color scheme used for the film can tie back to this title and something i want to integrate now is some background sound of the users of this game being described as shadows in plain sight. I would do this as they're walking down the street past the cop.

Taking Notes

After observing the opening minutes into Baby Driver, I observed some pretty interesting things that I could do for my film.

One of the most important things I want to incorporate is having the music set to the actions of the characters, synced with the shots and their movement completely, no dialogue, just music.

I also want the credits to be incorporated into the set I am filming, so using props that would normally be in the streets of Miami, so some Graffiti on a piece of wood, or a poster on a light pole, with the credits written in plain sight. I would make these props and place them strategically.

Something done in Baby Driver that I don't know if I will do is having 1 continuous shot of the scene. I probably will not do this because I am not in a movie set and I have to adapt as much as I can to my environment, so I think having quick cuts will still be effective by using many jump cuts and tight shots to capture the credits and simultaneously create intimacy between the audience and the group of friends.

As for the sound, I have 2 ideas so far. Diegetic sound vs Non- Diegetic sound. This can be illustrated by a speaker being carried by the group, or having it in the background, and the protagonists aren't aware of the music in the plot. As of right now I think I need to ask some of my peers for their opinions on my ideas before I finalize anything. Constructive criticism is really key to my work because I need a third party to give me an honest opinion so it isn't biased or assumes anything I maybe didn't notice.

Locations

So today, I went to Hollywood and Markham Park to see a few locations I was told about some locations that could work for my plot. Well, I visited 3 locations, 2 of them just didn't work for my plot, however one of my friends had a suggestion at the 3rd location of having the car in an extracted location, away from society and having a small trail that led to the car. I took some shots using my car as an example, but in the real film it would be a more luxurious car.


           

The two bottom ones were kind of what I want to emphasize in my opening. The sense of isolated freedom and luxury would be illustrated and then they would be in the car, until the teens hear a thud. This location is not maybe the most ideal but it's a good step into what I want to accomplish.

Edits to Plot

After Discussing my latest blog post with Mrs. Stoklosa,  I have made a few edits to my plot.

Some techniques I will use to illustrate the illegality and severity of the app, will be to introduce a group of friends rather than 1 character to give off a lighthearted tone to the opening, joking around and acting how teenagers would act, then there will be an officer walking towards the group and I will use a shot of the phone, with the app on the screen focus pulled from the cop walking towards them, having flashing blue and red lights in the backdrop and then the teenager turning off the phone, until they had walked past the cop, and then resuming with the app.

Another tip given to me was to end my scene with the thud of the trunk, a look of worry of all the people in the car and then ending the opening there to add suspense and not give away anything, keeping the viewer wanting to know what happens next.

I also discussed o how to incorporate my music elements, and play with effects with the music for the opening credits instead of consistently throughout the film.

Although all of this will take serious editing, I am ready to put in the work to make all these elements tie together.

Brainstorm Of Ideas

After thinking for a considerable amount of time, I have decided to structure my plot as seen below before I research the genre and storyboard my idea. This is a rough draft and will not be too specific.



The opening will start off with an establishing shot of Miami with a drone that I will use, then there will be a cut to the main character with his cell phone, playing an "illegal" game that consists of solving riddles and tasks around the hidden and "off limits" parts of the world in exchange for money. There will be a clue that leads the protagonist to the rooftop of a parking garage where he will find a loose tile, underneath will be car keys to a Mercedes Benz. The protagonist takes the keys, goes down in a rush to the lot in search of the car, while this is happening there will be very upbeat music and the beat builds up until he finds the car in glorified blue/ purple lighting, isolated from other cars seeming almost too perfect to be true. Impulsively, like any 18 year old who plays illegal games would do, takes the car. The music continues to be upbeat, many tight shots will be used in sync with the music as the beat has dropped and is playing up until there is a shot of a speed bump by itself as a symbol of importance, the car then goes over the speed bump and there is a abnormally loud thud that comes from the trunk. In rapid succession the music shifts completely to silence and using the sound seen on screen of the character pulling into an alley, to open the trunk and find a dead body as a bloody hand sticks out of a trash bag, indicating a dilemma where he cannot call the police to report this because of the illegal practices of the game and also stealing the car. This is when he realizes he was scammed/ tricked, and the opening would end there.

For the shot of the speed bump i want something like this:


I want the car shot to look like this but indoors and with more highlighted lighting with a blue or purple filter:




Things are subject to change but it will most likely be very close to this draft.

Inspiration

Movies like Nerve, National Treasure and Baby Driver are mostly accountable for the inspiration of my film opening. All of these movies have inspired me in some sort of way to create an original piece with the best elements of these movies that all have something unique to offer.

From Nerve, I want to extract the element of modernism, by appealing to the younger audiences in their teenage years to mid twenties. This was done through the use of social media in the movie when there was an app connecting thousands of people in 1 addicting game that left me hooked when watching the movie. 

   

From National Treasure, I want to use the aspects of adventure through landmarks instead of a complete fantasy. Using real life monuments, and settings in a film opening will appeal to people in general because who doesn't enjoy seeing a location one has visited in a movie? That simple element of hidden mysteries in our natural environment is really appealing to me and I feel this will benefit this project.

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And finally, from Baby Driver, I really enjoyed the uniqueness and incorporation of music to the plot. I feel like using visual elements to connect to the audio will help my opening, especially with the incorporation of the opening credits. Doing a task like this successfully will develop the plot better and will portray music as being a large asset to this film.

Introduction

Introduction to Film Opening:

To kick this blog off, I'm going to get right into it. I have about a month and a half to create a 2 minute film opening. In order to have a successful film opening, one must undergo a series of steps.

Step 1:  Think of a story

Step 2:  Research the story.Step 3: Research the genre.
Step 4: Study film openings from this genre.
As of right now I am only brainstorming based off of things that I like and I am capable of filming. I have very talented friends who offered me their help, as will I to their projects, expanding the range of my creativity with this film opening.

I am very excited to work on this project, I have many ideas on what to film, and must decide on a concrete story that fits into the categories of fiction and fits under a certain genre, all whilst maintaining certain elements of my opening that will make it stand out for others. What I mean by this is the incorporation of music and color schemes to entice the modern audience because I am almost 99% sure that that will end up being my target audience due to the fact I can relate to it the most. 

In my next blog post I will have a detailed explanation for my inspiration, which will lead me into choosing a certain genre, and going forth from there. 

That's all for this post, I am very excited about this process.