Project Schedule

     Since I am very busy with my other classes and extracurriculars, I think it is important for me to post a schedule! This will also help anyone at cambridge be able to navigate my project timeline much easier. For the sake of my own brain, I will skip weeks 1 and 2 since those have already passed by the time I will be using this schedule.

Week 3 -

2/11/25 - Finalize project idea, fill in any plotholes. My goal for this day is to have a complete cohesive idea for what I want my film to be about.

2/12/25 - Contact all actors for the film and finalize a filming date. Reaseach media theory & post. Begin Story board

Story post on snapchat to a private story with only my actors (literally the only way to contact my friends at this point)------->

2/13/25 - Complete storyboard, Begin script

2/14/25 - Work on script

2/15/25 - LOCK IN!! Finalize script & send out to all actors. Begin working each characters development

Week 4 -

Overlaps - Sweeney Todd Tech Week

2/17/25 - Finalize character development & post.

2/18/25 - Focus on Mise-en-scene for the costumes and props, make a mood board and search for items in need of purchase

2/19/25 - Focus on Mise-en-scene for set and lighting, make a mood board and search for items in need of purchase

2/21/25 - Look for any audio to be utilized in the project.

Week 5 -

FILMING WEEK!!!!

2/24/25 - Plan out specific schedule for the actual filming day(s)

2/25-3/1 - Iffy week, need to figure out what day all actors can come in before actually planning this week out. Will be updated ASAP.

Week 6 -

EDIT EDIT EDIT.

3/3-3/5 - Focus on editing. Giving myself ample time for this since I don't consider myself to be an expert editor.

3/6 - Begin research for CCR Q.1

Week 7 -

3/10 - Continue reseach for CCR Q.2

3/11 - Continue reseach for CCR Q.3

3/12 - Continue reseach for CCR Q.4 & Finalize

3/13 - Film CCR & Edit before the 16th

Week 8 -

FINAL WEEK!!

3/17 - Post about CCR

3/18 - Post about post-production of CCR

3/19 - Final reflections on the project

3/20 - Post link & FINALLY DONE!

Opening Credits in Psychological Drama

    While reseaching film openings, I noticed many include opening credit scenes. These are very important since they give credits to all major contributors to the productions (Director, writer, major actors, editor, etc.) I decided to research the credit scenes specifically so I could take inspiration to make my film more accurate to their genre.

    The first film that I researched was The Menu. The opening credits for this film were very interesting to me. Not in a way where there was a lot of different graphics, though. The opening credits for The Menu peaked my interest since there were actually no graphics at all. The only thing that occupied the screen was the white text introducing each major contributor. I found this specifically interesting since it actually captures the genre really well. The dramatic music that had played in the back while the the white text flashed on the screen really had captured the genre, even within that one minute.

    Next, I researched Dont Worry Darling. These opening credits directly contradicted the previous one, since there were so many differnt graphics on screen. I think this still managed to capture the genre of the film though. Once thing I already noticed so far is both of the openings had used an all caps white font for the credits. This similarity may just be for simplicity, or it could possibly even have something to do with the genre. Either way, it is a commonality. I think I could utilize this same technique with the font since it doesn't take away from any of the actual film. The simplicity of the font and color definately allow for more creative freedom for what is going on behind the credits.

Finally, I had watched the opening credits for Fight Club. While fight club is normally classified as action movie, it is important to recognize that is has many elements of a psychological drama to it. These opening credits reminded me of a combination of the two previous ones, since it had only focused on the main credits, yet still had some form of graphics in the back. The difference is, these opening credits didn't have that same font and color as the other two. While I like the display of using a cohesive color palette and the font color being very similar to the background, I would rather be able to include some form of important information to the actual film within the credit scene, while not making it so distracting that it takes away from the credits.

Film openings in Psychological Drama

    Continuing with my filmmaking process, I need to research openings in the genre I have chosen, Psychological Drama. Something I had noticed about these film openings is that they are mostly fairly simple. A good amount of them had simple graphic animations that represented the film while animating the opening credits in with them, which allowed for a smooth seamless look. Since I don't have the resources for animation like that, I am going to take more inspiration from openings with physical people.

    The first film opening I used was a psychological horror film, Us. As often I use this film as an example, there is a great reasoning behind this. This movie specifically has a lot of similarities to the approach I want to take with theming. The psychological themes used in this film as a whole relate to my film idea too. As for the opening, it is very simple, but relates to the plot of the movie subtly. 

    The next film, Whiplash, is a psychological drama. This film opening, in my opinion, is more helpful to the way I would like to specifically open my film. Although it is less relatable to my actual idea. I liked how this film opening had specifically made the viewer more intrigued to keep watching the film. I also enjoyed how the opening started with sound and builds up from there, finally stopping to reveal the moving picture. This film opening is also generally a very strong start to a film, which I aim to achieve with my own opening.

Finally, Joker also had a great example of an opening I would use for inspiration. I really enjoyed the mise-en-scene elements used in this, especially with the color scheme. I think I will specifically use the fact that they made the Joker himself stand out so much from the crowd, you could recognize him from long shots, too. The overall color scheme used in the whole film captures the theming perfectly.

Film opening : Genre Research

    Before I start anything for this film, I have to know what genre I will be doing. Currently, I am between Drama and Horror. I get those contrast drastically, but both of those genres have a lot of creative freedom for where I would like to go with the film. 

Horror:

    If I were to go through with a horror film, It would probably be more psychological horror than outright horror. I personally don't only find it easier to film, but more interesting to create too, than a normal jumpscare-like horror film.

    The first movie I would take inspiration from for this theme would be Black Swan. Personally, I adore this movie. They way the whole plot is excecuted is something I would love to use as a guideline for my movie. Another movie I would use for inspiration is Us. I liked how this movie specifically started out showing a scene with great importance, but that isn't revealed until far later in the film Though, this would be very difficult for a film opening since this is the type of film that needs time to develop it's plot before revealing anything major. 

    Overall, I would love to take on the challenge of a psychological horror film since it would certainly challenge my abilities, but give me a lot of creative freedom to make so many different approaches. As a person who always has a specific idea in mind and like to go with that exact thing, I think this genre would give me the room to do so. My only issue would be establishing this genre right away. I'd need to find a way to immediately communicate that there is something wrong in the setting the main character is in without giving away the whole entire plot within the two minutes I am given, which will be a challenge to me.

Drama:

Similarly, Drama movies have a LOT of wiggle room with whatever idea I would want to do with my film. Immediately I think this is best since I already have a lot of different ideas for the film which align with the drama category more than horror. Though, I am not completely set on it yet.

    One of the films I would use as referance if I did a drama would be Dead Poets Society. I personally adore this film. Immediately it had caught my interest within the first 5 minutes which told me it would be good. The lighthearted elements along with the heavyness of some events really had sold this movie to me as one I will go back to. If I did a drama, I would definately take inspiration from the idea of rebellion and change this movie uses, and I especially enjoyed the part the teacher had to play in all of the film. I would definately want to possibly include something like that in my opening if I did a drama

    One of my top dramas, also happens to be a musical. Cabaret was truly one of my favorite films. The plot of this film is truly insane (in a good way). The message of this film is very powerful, too. Personally, I think I would take the most inspiration off of this film due to the impact it has had on myself. I also think knowing my connections in theatre, I would be able to easily find actors that could fit highly emotional roles that could easily convey context even within the two minute time limit. My biggest challenge with drama, though, would definately be picking a specific plotline, since there are so many routes to go which could lead to possible plotholes, even within the opening.

 

Transition to Cambridge Portfolio

    From now on, I will be only posting about the Cambridge final project! Taking on this big of a project is pretty intimidating, but I hope to get it done an work to my fullest potential. I plan to first pick my genre of film. This will honestly the most difficult part of the process since it will be what determines the rest of the project. After this, I will plan what my film opening is about and immediately contact the people I will be working with as actors and start working on a script. I would like to include them in this process to make sure they agree with all the decisions I am making for it and guarentee everyone is comfortable with all of the shots. Before filming, I need to assure all the filming locations I want to use are available. One that is set I will begin the filming process. I hope to get this done in just a few days depending on me and the actors schedules. Immediately after this I will begin the editing process. Since I'm not an expert on editing, I want to give myself a longer amount of time to figure this out and perfect it for production.

    Overall, my main focus will be on creating a context for this film. Outside of school, am very involved in the acting community and I can best understand works when they have a driven focus. I believe creating a context for the entire film will immensely help me figure out what I want to do with the 2 minute time limit. For a lot of people I know, if something isn't made abundantly clear, they wont get it. I want to get a message across within these first two minutes of the film to say exactly what this film would be about.

    I'd also want to develop a conflict for the film. Even if its not a sort of horror or action film, all films need a conflict. I think this approach would be useful to me since I am the type of person to not understand what the conflict in the film is until it's put right in front of you. The film's I personally enjoy the most are ones that state right out what the conflict of the film will be (Ex. I am Legend). I aim for this film opening to emulate ones like films that I genuinely enjoy, and I believe creating a conflict for my film opening will help me immensely.

Music Marketing Project #2

 

    In this project, my group had created a music video for our band, Crepitus. While creating this video, we had explored multiple contexts that we were taught in class. In my filming location, I had to work very hard on exploring ways to work with the lighting. Since I was in public, I had to find a way to make my lighting box work while avoiding the interference of the normal public lighting. I also had to find a place that would work and have the empty and quiet vibe I had been hoping for. Luckily, I have family connections to a bar, so I was able to use the backroom on a day they weren't busy. This had allowed me to get very specific scenes that I had been hoping to use to help tell the story a little more clearly.

    Overall, I think my personal filming process went well. I hope to take a little more time to redo shots in a more controllable environment next time I have a project like this. I also hope to have better resources for costuming and lighting to help me have more creative freedom while filming.

Find the Behind the Scenes of the music video here.

Music Marketing Project

 For this project, my group has to create a marketing plan for a band in the alternative indie genre. In my group, I am mainly in charge of creating graphics for the band. So far, I have created the brand logo, a social media advertising post, and a merchandising campaign. The purpose of the color scheme used for these campaigns to symbolize peace, tranquility, harmony, and growth. This is describing where the band is at now in comparison to where they started, which will be described in the music video. 

(Above the logo for the band.)

(Social media campaign for their new song, which the music video will be to)

(Social media campaign for merchandise, which also allows for physical marketing when people wear it)

Most of the time, alternative indie bands use storytelling in their music videos, so my group will be doing this along with some promo as this is supposed to be the bands first release. The music video itself will be about each group member's struggle and how music had let them get away from these issues. This is meant to push the boundaries public knowledge, allowing for fans to know its ok to struggle, and there are ways out of it.