Prop elements for my project

Hi there! In this blog post I will be talking about the prop elements that I’ll be using in my film opening to make my video look more realistic and immersive.

Since my opening takes place in a lab, I will be using science related props like beakers, test tubes, a dropper and gloves. My mom’s friend is a chemistry teacher and she has these elements at her house because she takes them to school when she needs to teach lab lessons, so I’ll ask her if she can borrow me those props for my filming. Since I don’t have them with me right now, I’ll leave pictures of the props just to give an idea of what I’m planning. 

(Beakers)

            (Dropper)

 (Gloves)

These props immediately show people that the setting is scientific and that there is something serious going on, and the gloves and lab equipment help make Dr. Werner look more professional and focused on what he is doing. Also, I have food coloring at home that I can mix with water in the beakers and use it with a dropper to make it look more realistic, as if I the scientist is mixing different real chemical substances.

Besides all the lab equipment props, I will also be using one of those detective folders labeled “EVIDENCE”  that we see in movies to make it obvious that there is some kind of investigation happening, and that this DNA test is connected to a crime. Even though the audience doesn’t see many details, the prop hints that something bigger is happening, and this helps to create mystery without explaining everything. I will probably buy the folder at a nearby store that sell office supplies, such as Fedex. Here is a picture of a folder example: 

Overall, I think that at the same time my props are simple, they work really well to help the audience understand that there is something science/crime related happening, while they also help to bring mystery and the suspense.

Meet Dr. Werner

Hey everyone, I would like to introduce you to my character, Dr. Werner!

At first I didn’t know which name to choose, so I decided to search “men’s names that are science related”. I scrolled through the website and chose the one that I thought it seemed more like the name of an important scientist character for my film. I’ll leave the website link below:

https://morganwender.com/science-baby-names/

I chose the name Werner because it sounds serious and kinda mysterious. I want people to visualize him as someone who is calm, focused and very intelligent. Since I thought this name was a bit mysterious, I also want Dr. Werner to look mysterious, since he is running an unauthorized DNA test, and this ads up to the tension. Because of this tension added, it also makes people question his true intentions. During my opening, I don’t want to show much details about his face, so most of the shots will show only his hands working on the lab tests, as well as his eyes for a few seconds. Dr. Werner also has a deep voice, so during his only short line during the opening, it will make him look more serious and mysterious. I wanted his name to feel like a strong one because that helps to make the character more realistic in my opinion. 

In terms of appearance, I imagine Dr. Werner wearing simple but professional clothes that a scientist working at his home lab would wear. He will be wearing a lab coat, gloves and glasses. I don’t want him to look very dramatic because I want the suspense to come from his actions and the mystery, and I want to make it obvious at first that the main character is a scientist, so I chose to use a simpler costume that is still effective in my opening. I searched on Pinterest “male scientist outfit” and I’ll leave pictures for my inspiration here: 

                           

Overall, I want to make Dr. Werner feel intelligent and serious, but also mysterious. His character helps to build the tension in my film because the audience isn’t sure if he is the hero, the villain or something in between, so I’m really excited to bring him to real life! (Also, my dad will play Dr. Werner so that’s a plus on why I’m excited to being filming because I think it’ll be so funny).

Project script!!

Hey there, welcome back! For my project script, I chose to use a website called “Celtx”, where I could type in my screenplay and write it correctly. I also watched this YouTube video below to help me use the platform, since it was my first time using the website and writing a script. 

Now, here is the finalized script for my project: 

Media Theory research

Hey everyone! In this blog post I will be talking about media theories and some ways that I can incorporate them into my project. 

I used a Media theory sheet that my teacher gave us in class to do my research and choose the media theory that I would like to use in my opening. Here are the pictures of the handout sheets: 

One media theory I want to use in my film opening is Roland Barthes’ theory: Enigma Code. This theory is about creating mystery by not explaining everything to the audience. Instead of giving clear answers, the film leaves questions and makes the audience feel confused so that it makes them want to keep watching to find out more. 

In my film opening, the Enigma Code will be used by keeping important information hidden. In the beginning of the film, the audience can see a mysterious folder with the FBI symbol on the desk with a file inside that folder containing a crime report and a case number with a blurred picture of a woman. However, we don’t know who this woman is yet, but it hints at the audience that she is probably the criminal that committed the crime they are trying to solve. Still, we don’t know her motivation and who she is, but by using this theory, it gives us the idea that she is dangerous and that she will be important for the rest of the story. Also after that, the scientist is working on a DNA test, but we still don’t know who does the DNA belongs to either (until the last scene of the opening).

Also, in one of the last scenes of my opening, the scientist says “I found her” and this part also uses the Enigma Code. The word “her” is very unclear, because we don’t know who this girl is, whether is the criminal or the victim, which makes the audience wonder who is her and why is she important.

By using the Enigma Code, it helps my film opening feel more suspenseful because it leaves questions unanswered and the audience becomes more interested in the story and wants to continue watching to understand the mystery. At least this is what keeps me engaged in suspense/thriller movies and I hope it creates the same effect in my opening!

My final project idea!

Hi there!! Today I will be explaining a little bit more about my final project idea and some of the inspirations that I had to create it. I hope you enjoy it!

So, for my final project, I will be creating a 2 minute suspense film opening called  “The Hidden Match.”  The opening focuses on a scientist working alone in a lab while running a DNA test of an  unknown person. At the beginning of the opening, a folder with the FBI logo is shown, as well as a crime report file with a case number, the suspect's name and a flyer with the woman’s face saying "WANTED". This makes the audience realize that the story has to do with something about a crime suspect. While hinting at what the story is about, we still don't know who the suspect is, why she has done that and why are DNA tests being done by the scientist, which works perfect to create a suspenseful and mysterious opening. 

To give a little bit more of context, the woman that is shown in the crime report is actually the missing daughter of my main character, the scientist, who was mistakenly swapped by the hospital when she was born. She murdered the last director of the FBI forensic science department, which is written in the case report that will be shown really quickly at the beginning of the opening with a close-up shot. However, I can’t include all of these informations right away in the opening because it would end up with the suspense and I want to leave the audience wondering who is the woman, if she has any connection with a character shown, and why did she do that, maintaining the suspense of the story.

At the end of the opening, the scientist evaluates the result of the DNA test, which is positive, and makes a phone call where he says, “I found her”  to an unknown person, leaving the audience with unanswered questions and building up the tension to keep them engaged and interested in keep watching the movie to get answers.     

My main inspiration for this project comes from suspense and crime films that use mystery to keep the audience engaged. These films withhold information at the beginning and slowly reveal details over time. I was especially inspired by stories that involve science and investigation, where the audience needs to connect clues together rather than being told everything directly.

While I was researching for some suspense film openings to inspire myself, here are some of the ones that I liked the most: 

   Se7en (1995

  Gone girl (2014)

  Zodiac (2007)

I really like these three openings and they inspired me because they are suspense and crime films that create mystery by not revealing everything at the beginning . In  Gone Girl , the opening leaves questions without clear answers, which helps to engage the audience right away. I also really liked  Se7en  and  Zodiac because of how they  use darker and colder tones, investigation and how they build tension slowly, and that's exactly what I want my project to feel like. They inspired me to focus on mystery and suspense rather than explaining everything in my opening. I also watched the video below to help me get more ideas of more elements I could add into my opening to make it better: 

I hope you enjoyed reading my project idea and I can't wait to begin filming it and turning it into a real story! 

Group meeting #1

Hi there! 

For our first in class group meeting, we had to share our blogs, the ideas that we had for our project and our opinions about it. I was in a group with 7 people, Maia, Mia, Isa, Luke, myself, Emma and ​​Vanessa, and we spent the whole class discussing and helping each other with our ideas. 

Maia was the first one to talk about her project, and she explained that she was doing a coming of age story about a girl who started her own blog and shared her thoughts and experiences about her life through her posts. I really liked her idea specially because she was very creative when developing her opening title. She showed us the many different versions of titles with very diverse fonts and all of them looked really beautiful. I truly loved her project idea and I thought it was so unique and personal. 

Mia went second and she also wanted to do her project about a coming of age story. She explained that she was inspired by the sitcom "Boo B...", and her story will be about two best friends who used to hang out at a park everyday, but suddenly, one of the girls gets hit by a car and ends up dying. However, the other friend realizes that she can actually see and hear the ghost of her best friend. I really liked her idea and I thought it was pretty engaging. I suggested Mia to end her opening as soon as we hear the car crashing sound, and Maia added up by suggesting that the title could be "Best friEND", which I thought it was really amazing and creative because it relates so much to the story. 

Isa went next and she wanted to do a coming of age opening as well. At first, the movie would seem like a horror film about a mysterious person knocking on one of the main character's house, but that unknown person would actually happen to be the protagonist best friend, turning the film into a coming of age comedy about two bffs. I thought her idea was great because I love watching movies that reveal something I was not expecting, and I would definitely watch a coming of age movie, which is my favorite genre, that looks like a different genre at first, but it's not. 

Then, Luke went. He said he was still thinking more clearly about the project, but his main idea was to do a drama/comedy opening about a dialogue between two best friends. One of them would happen to be really extroverted, while the other extremely introverted, highlighting their differences and how opposite they are, but both are best friends still. I thought it was fun and different!

After Luke, it was my turn. I started the group meeting without being so sure about what I would do for my project, but I ended up choosing an idea afterwards. I was in doubt between doing something in the suspense or coming of age genre, (Two complete opposite genres, I know), but I chose to go with suspense. I told the group that I wanted to do something within the science field about a scientist doing something mysterious in which I'm still unsure about what exactly he will be investigating. The group helped me a lot and Maia and Mia suggested that I could do something DNA related and use science labs elements like beakers for example. Vanessa and Emma told me that I could use the liquids in the beakers to introduce the title in the opening and I thought that was genius! Having that in mind, I thought about doing a story about a scientist investigating someone's DNA (probably a criminal or suspect), adding a bit of crime to the story. 

Emma went next and she explained that her film opening will be a mystery story about a disturbed girl who is in jail. She said that there will be scratches on the walls showing a name that becomes important later in the film. Emma also showed us some of the set pieces that she bought to make the video, including jail cell bars and a grey background to help create the setting. I really liked her idea because I love mystery movies and I thought it was very creative.

And then, Vanessa went and was the last group member to explain her project. She said that her and her group’s idea was a thriller film about a victim of bullying who fights back by killing the bully. She wanted the film to focus on how and why the victim makes this decision and to show that the character was mentally unstable. Honestly, I think this was one of my favorite ideas. 

Overall, the group meeting was so fun and it helped me a lot. At the beginning, I was unsure of what I should make my project about, but in the end, I had a clearer idea of what I wanted to do. Everyone was so nice and gave such great ideas and advices that I would have never thought about on my own. Now I’m really excited for the next group meeting because the first one was so fun and engaging!

 

Project schedule

Hey Cambridge! Here is my project timeline and how I expect to follow this schedule to finish my final project. 

Timeline

Week 1 (2/2 - 2/8)

• Research film openings from the suspense genre so I can inspire myself
• Plan and write the script for the opening 

Week 2 (2/9 - 2/15)

• Start creating my storyboard 
• Look for places where I can start filming 
• Set the filming days
• Maybe start filming during the weekend

Week 3 (2/16 - 2/22)

• Continue production and filming
• Start to record foley sounds 
• End the filming scenes by the end of this week

Week 4 (2/23 - 2/28)

• Editing
• Start and finish at least the first 20 seconds of editing

Week 5 (3/1 - 3/7)

• Keep doing at least 10 seconds of editing per day 
• Finish the editing by the end of this week. 

Week 6 (3/8 - 3/14)

• Revisions
• Revise my project and see if everything is fine
• Creative Critical Reflection
• Research information relating to the reflection
• Create the reflection
• Edit and review CCR