Creating Fake Blood

 Hello! I just wanted to first give an update on how our project is going and what we have coming up in the next few weeks. Lorena and I are continuing and finishing the storyboard for the film opening. I'm so excited to see how the final product is going to look like because the last time we worked together, we had a great vision of how we wanted the overall project to be. Thiago is starting the script for the film opening soon, and I know it will be great! We are still trying to find people that are willing to work on our project and be the main characters in our story, so in regards to representation, we have still not decided completely on how it is going to be. 

I've been doing some research on a prop that is extremely important in our opening and that it will be incorporated in various scenes, and that happens to be blood, well fake blood at least. It is going to be shown in different shots and surfaces, so I believe the substance has to be different depending on where we are going to place it, and the color is also something we have to think about when creating it (can you tell I've never done this before?). Different websites suggest different ways to make them, and so far we have not decided on who is in charge of specific props, we have just been suggesting different things we can bring on the shoot dates. I found the recipe below easy and quick to make, also the reviews were great, which I always look at and think is important when buying or creating from something you see online. 

• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
• 5 drops blue food coloring
• 2 drops green food coloring
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

The video below I also found to be helpful, and they use somewhat different ingredients than the other recipes I read about. The consistency looks great, and it seems quick and easy to make. It all depends on the ingredients we have available and which one we think will look best on camera. I still haven't decided but it will probably be between these two recipes. 

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fake-blood-51199810 

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/how-to/a35075/how-to-make-fake-blood/

Storyboards

 I mentioned before that we discussed our strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of the project to ensure that we could utilize them to our benefit and make our project the best version it can be. After we worked on the shot-list on Tuesday, Lorena and I discussed getting started on the storyboard from the shot-list. We find this process essential because it is easier for us to picture how the film opening is going to look like and adjust any of the choices we make throughout our scenes. The vision we have when deciding the shots, angles, and composition can sometimes be different on paper, so it is great that we are doing this now. Even though the shot-list is subject to change, we wanted to get started, and if anything we edit the storyboard too. Below are some of the shots we have for the storyboard!

These images are from scene one and I plan on continuing the rest of the storyboard. There is still scene two and three to work on and edit the shots if anything changes. I will keep you updated on the storyboard and let you know if anything changes in our plan. 

Creating a Shot List

 Hello! I've got some pretty exciting updates!! Today, Thiago, Lorena, and I had a group meeting over FaceTime during our AICE Media class. Even though we have been communicating every day and exchanging ideas all the time, it was good to have a conversation "face to face" and talk at the same time. It was extremely helpful too because we are different people and when we listen to audio messages from each other, we each have a specific vision in our head of what it is going to look like. So as we talked, we clarified all the ideas we have and are now on the same page on everything. It was funny to see that even though we agreed on the ideas, we had envisioned different scenarios for specific scenes. 

During our group meeting, we discussed various aspects of the project such as shooting locations, lighting, and the character's personalities, but we didn't fully decide on those. We spent a majority of the time writing our shot list for the opening scenes. We shared a document so all of us could type at the same time, and began at the very scene shot that would appear. We made some changes from our original ideas such as having the title screen be the very last thing to appear instead of having it in the middle of the film opening. We also adjusted some other confusions that we had between us and made sure we all had the same images when we pictured the film opening. The shot list is subject to change as we made changes and progress through our project, but it was great to have this meeting with them. Here is a picture of the shot lists we have done! 

Editing Softwares

I mentioned before that I did not think about how we were going to edit our film opening and I know there are lots of good editing software available for us to use. I previously used Adobe Premiere Pro for my Sound Project and it was quite difficult for me to use, especially since it was my first time trying it out. The people in my group also mentioned Adobe After Effects, which I've heard of before but have never tried, and there are iMovie and DaVinci Resolve too. I almost forgot my AICE Media teacher has a link on her page with lots of other free editing software to choose from. 

I just looked over the link my teacher provided and there is over 20 editing software for me to choose from. They provide resourceful and important information on each one, which is great because it makes the process of choosing easier and they state what they are best used for. I'm conflicted about choosing a new one for this project or just sticking with Adobe Premiere Pro since I'm more familiar with it. I am going to discuss this topic with my group and I'll let you guys know the decision we believe will best benefit us.  

                                     

Sometimes next week I plan on editing a couple of videos on different software and trying them all out to decide which one is the best one for us to use!

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/best-free-video-editing-software

Exchanging Ideas

 Today I was grouped with four other people from my class for us to share ideas and help each other with anything we might be hesitant on!  We discussed various topics about our project and turns out we are all going for the same vibe and mood for the film opening. They all have something to do with horror and suspense, which made having a conversation and helping each other out even better! 

We all gave input on each other's projects and ideas, and they had some greats ones! It was great to see we all had similar research and looked up almost all of the same films. They recommended some videos and films to research that they believed would help in creating a better film and using for reference. I have yet to watch them but some films they recommended were Joker (2019), Prisoners (2013), Criminal Minds (2005-2020), and some more. There is a channel that someone from my group recommended and they go over specific scenes from films and the directors break down the scene shot by shot. They explain why they chose that specific angle, lighting, etc., and what their purpose is in the film. Below is one of the examples they recommended!

They brought up a topic that I hadn't thought about so I did some research on it, and that was what editing software to use for the project. In the past, I have used Adobe Premiere, but I have to admit it was really complicated for me to use and there are still some things about it that I don't understand. The project that I worked on did not turn out so bad though, so that is a plus! The people in the group mentioned they have worked with Adobe Premiere and iMovie on their previous projects, and Nicole mentioned After Effects. I have heard of After Effects but I have never tried using it, maybe I'll try downloading it and experimenting with it. 

They agreed with me that a voice-over would be extremely cheesy so that is definitely out of the list of ideas! Brett advised us that if we were to do a rewound shot, not to do one of those typical scenes where the entire film plays out really quickly until it stops at the scene we want to, because it would also be kind of cheesy. And he is completely right about that! We are trying to make it as original and real as possible without giving too much away, so for the rest of the week I will be researching more and watching the films and videos they recommend me to watch. 

Progress on the Plot

Hello! As I have mentioned before, my group and I are always talking and sharing ideas with each other on everything that comes to mind. I know I have mentioned a little bit about the plot and general ideas we liked, but since then a lot has changed so I thought I would give some updates about that!

The beginning of the film opening will be quick shots of the shower scene from all three characters. They will be washing off the blood from their body, head, and hands as they are extremely in shock and scared about the events that led up to that scene. It will be in their bathrooms, in the shower and some of the shots that might get included are:

-drain 

-close up of their face

-blood washing out and going down the drain

-water from the showerhead 

After they are done taking a shower, the scene will continue in the bathroom but it will now focus on one character being startled and frozen outside the shower. This scene will focus on the disbelief and state of shock they are still in, emphasizing the thoughts that might be going on inside their heads. This creates a build-up of suspense and makes the audience ponder more on what could've happened between them or if there were more people involved. Also the character we want to focus on after the shower has not been chosen, but I don't believe it will mean they are more important for the overall storyline of the film. 

-close up of the face

-midshot of the character looking at the mirror 

-close up of drain as water droplets fall

-wide shot of character standing still in silence

We talked about filming the character panting, anxious, and screaming as they are looking at the mirror to then cut to a black screen where the title of the film will show up. I know we talked about having a voice-over saying something along the lines of "You might be wondering how we got here" but we felt that was too cheesy for the film and did not fit the overall theme of it. Instead, we are thinking about including a text somewhere on the screen that will state how many days prior to the first scene the rest of the film will be taken place in. After the black screen, it will show the same character as before getting ready for the day, kind of creating a parallel to the mirror scene of them screaming to them being happy getting ready. They will later go in the car with the other two characters, where we will delve deeper into the dynamic and relationship between them.

-mid-shot of the character looking into the mirror 

-long shot of them in their room getting ready 

-tracking shot following down the stairs and into the car 

-wide shot of the car outside the house 

-mid-shot of the three characters having a conversation 

We want to show it is a horror/suspenseful film to the audience without giving too much away so we want to include the stalker or 'antagonist' of the film in the opening even if it just for a second. We discussed having them be someone who stalks them and later creates problems in their lives, so the antagonist would have a camera that would get shown during the opening. 

-pov shot of camera looking at the three characters 

-mid shot of the three having a laugh 

-long shot of antagonist from behind 

Researching Sound

 We have been having discussions on the opening since the very first day of working on the project. It appears to be a little more complicated than we originally thought it would be. There are a couple of ideas out in the open but we are still figuring out the gist of it all. The outline of the opening we have so far includes the following...

To start the opening we want to use scenes similar to the shower scene in Psych as I have previously mentioned. It will be a series of quick shots between the three characters covered in blood, trying to get it all off. The quick shots will be used to represent the chaos and their state of mind after going through what they went through (which the audience doesn't know yet). It will jump from character to character. It will get faster and faster between shots.

We have learned throughout the school year that every element in film making is vital to creating a scene or film that has significant substance and will create a purpose for the audience. To create the suspense and horror mood during the opening we want to include sound for the first sequence of shots that represent the suspenseful theme we have in mind. 

I have previously learned in class about the Shepard tone and how it is used in intense scenes to emphasize the nerve-wracking situations for the audience. For those of you who might not be similar to the Shepard tone, it is a  sound that contains various tones separated by an octave layered on top of each other. It creates a sequence that sounds like it is constantly ascending in pitch when in reality, the lowest bass tone fades in as the higher treble tone fades out. Since if we were to use it, it would be during the shower scenes we have to think about how much time it would take up because the scene isn't mean to be long. Not to mention the copyright of the sound is a challenge and thing we have to consider. After we decide on the final shots and create the storyboard we will decide on the sound because we will know more about the time length of the opening film. 

https://www.vox.com/videos/2017/7/26/16033868/dunkirk-soundtrack-shepard-tone