My production skills developed by understanding how to make a film. From the initial submission to the final submission. I have learned how to handle the camera, how to understand the importance of sound, how to better communicate what needs to be done, and how to maneuver the camera to make a certain effect.
I've learned how to better talk to the actors and actresses. This because I gave more concise direction of what I wanted to be shot in a certain scene. I would tell them why I wanted to do a certain camera angle, so they knew what to expect. I didn't know how to communicate because I felt I was disturbing them about my project every week. I was able to effectively communicate what needs to be done and how it should be done.
The scheduling was a bit of a hassle for my midterm submission and my third quarter submission. The filming was usually done on Thursday and Fridays with having to remind them to wear the same clothes the day after. We did some filming on Monday once I looked over the shots done the previous days and decide what to keep and what to re-shoot. There were several mishaps when it comes to scheduling. Every month, they had fire drill alarm practice after school on Fridays which is when I had to film. Other times it was doctor appointments or was sick so the actress home early. Other times I forget to remind the kidnapper to be there because he was there for one minute.
Another was the location. The location where the actresses were playing cards in the courtyard had to be changed. This is because it was had to hear them. Another change of location was where the kidnapper was located because the kidnapper could be seen. The last location that was different was the new scene I added. This made more sense because it has more authentication that the actresses were looking for their friends instrument.
I added scenes because it was too short and vague. The audience did not know the circumstances before, for only stated the missing instrument. I added two different scenes and a scene that did not make it in the midterm submission which was the view of an over the shoulder shot of the kidnapper looking a Bibi running. The last scene was edited to be a shot-reverse-shot instead of a two shot because it fit convention and it was more dynamic to see each of their expressions.
I started to evolve after the midterm submission because that was my trial run. I had somewhat of a clue at what I was doing but not by much. The third quarter submission was a vast improvement because I knew what I had to add and to fix to make it better. The final submission is exactly the same as the 3rd quarter submission by one exception which was that some of the scenes were shorter.
Creative Critical Reflection - Question 2
The second question is how the product will engage the audience. The social groups that are represented are high school students hanging out after school. The issues represented is that there is no place that is safe. There will always be danger lurking around the corner. This allows for the following to be suspicious of their peers as well as anyone of authority too. Those of middle to high school will relate to this. The college students will relate as well because they went through high school.
So, the films I researched have helped immensely in understanding and finding techniques that would best market and distribute my film. I have researched three different films and figured out what to take and what to not take if I was doing a real film.
The marketing techniques I have learned are from the films Captive State, Bird Box, and Searching. I learned that if want the film want to succeed I need to market accordingly. I have learned that trailers make a very big impact on whether the audience would want to see that film. This goes along with the trailers which are posters. These posters help also quickly convey what the film is about in few words and a overall picture that represents the film.. It must reflect what the basis of the film is about while also not giving away too much detail. I have learned that billboards can work in favor, for if put in a densely populated area where many people walk such as LA, or NY city then there is a chance to have them see it and spread the word to others. Netflix had an interesting marketing technique. There was a Bird Box Challenge swirling around the internet which Netflix did not condemn, but told audiences to be careful. Another is a website and a social media account. These both must reflect what the movie will be about as well. For instance, the website from Searching has text messages that pop up on the corner when someone first enters the website which resembles the trailer and the film because this film put a huge emphasis of technology. The last important marketing strategy would be having interviews. All of the films mentioned above have an interview with the director to get the thoughts and feelings which allows more engagement to the audience because now they feel connected to film, just as the director that filmed it.
My marketing plan is to have a creation of poster that gives a overview of what will be shown in the film. I would also have one or two different trailers to help get people talking about the film. I would also have posters in populated areas such as New York or Los Angeles. I would have the poster, trailers, and maybe a challenge set up to help engage the audience on both social media and own personal film website. Many of the target audience is younger, so would mainly focus on social media. I would also run a campaign to challenge that of target audience such as reenacting a scene from the trailer or asking how they would solve this if it was happening at their school. I would also have a director's interview posted on both website and social media page.
I have learned that there are two different distribution techniques. The different distribution techniques are traditional and digital. The traditional techniques are putting the film at film festivals hosted around the country. If the film was recognized there, then the film might be taken under the wing of a distribution agency. There are other traditional ways by having a sales agent distribute to various markets by selling them to brands such as hotels, airlines to show or advertise the film. Another way is to have a theatrical release where it will be distributed to different theaters. Another is go directly of video on demand. The digital techniques are quite different. For instance, Bird Box was only distributed and marketed by Netflix and no one else. Another example, is Captive State which was distributed on multiple platforms such as Amazon Prime, VUDU, iTunes, and YouTube.
My distribution plan would be a mix of both traditional and digital. I would have it go to a film festival and see if a distributor would be interested in distributing the film. If not, then I would hire a sales agent to have my film promoted on hotels and airplanes. I would have my film go through the theatrical release and then I would then pitch to different companies such Amazon, YouTube, Hulu, and VUDU to show it after the theatrical release as well as put it on VOD.
So, the films I researched have helped immensely in understanding and finding techniques that would best market and distribute my film. I have researched three different films and figured out what to take and what to not take if I was doing a real film.
The marketing techniques I have learned are from the films Captive State, Bird Box, and Searching. I learned that if want the film want to succeed I need to market accordingly. I have learned that trailers make a very big impact on whether the audience would want to see that film. This goes along with the trailers which are posters. These posters help also quickly convey what the film is about in few words and a overall picture that represents the film.. It must reflect what the basis of the film is about while also not giving away too much detail. I have learned that billboards can work in favor, for if put in a densely populated area where many people walk such as LA, or NY city then there is a chance to have them see it and spread the word to others. Netflix had an interesting marketing technique. There was a Bird Box Challenge swirling around the internet which Netflix did not condemn, but told audiences to be careful. Another is a website and a social media account. These both must reflect what the movie will be about as well. For instance, the website from Searching has text messages that pop up on the corner when someone first enters the website which resembles the trailer and the film because this film put a huge emphasis of technology. The last important marketing strategy would be having interviews. All of the films mentioned above have an interview with the director to get the thoughts and feelings which allows more engagement to the audience because now they feel connected to film, just as the director that filmed it.
My marketing plan is to have a creation of poster that gives a overview of what will be shown in the film. I would also have one or two different trailers to help get people talking about the film. I would also have posters in populated areas such as New York or Los Angeles. I would have the poster, trailers, and maybe a challenge set up to help engage the audience on both social media and own personal film website. Many of the target audience is younger, so would mainly focus on social media. I would also run a campaign to challenge that of target audience such as reenacting a scene from the trailer or asking how they would solve this if it was happening at their school. I would also have a director's interview posted on both website and social media page.
I have learned that there are two different distribution techniques. The different distribution techniques are traditional and digital. The traditional techniques are putting the film at film festivals hosted around the country. If the film was recognized there, then the film might be taken under the wing of a distribution agency. There are other traditional ways by having a sales agent distribute to various markets by selling them to brands such as hotels, airlines to show or advertise the film. Another way is to have a theatrical release where it will be distributed to different theaters. Another is go directly of video on demand. The digital techniques are quite different. For instance, Bird Box was only distributed and marketed by Netflix and no one else. Another example, is Captive State which was distributed on multiple platforms such as Amazon Prime, VUDU, iTunes, and YouTube.
My distribution plan would be a mix of both traditional and digital. I would have it go to a film festival and see if a distributor would be interested in distributing the film. If not, then I would hire a sales agent to have my film promoted on hotels and airplanes. I would have my film go through the theatrical release and then I would then pitch to different companies such Amazon, YouTube, Hulu, and VUDU to show it after the theatrical release as well as put it on VOD.
Creative Critical Reflection - Question 1
For question 1, the meaning I was trying to create is that people should keep their guard up no matter where they are. The school is supposedly a safe place, so getting kidnapped is against what is to be expected. It was made to have suspense because this safe place is now not a safe place.
The conventions used to create this was to have an actor run across the camera at a low angle. This was inspired by the film I researched which was called The Silence of the Lambs. Though the Silence of the Lambs was more of a casual run in the woods. The run I used to create a feeling of panic because the actress is running across school campus which is very unusual because since the time children were in elementary school, they are told not to run.
Another convention is the shot-reverse-shot. There are many films that I have researched that have shot-reverse-shot. This allows to see the reactions on the actors faces. This is emphasized on the last seconds of the opening in which both actors are confused on what to do which is plausible because this would confuse a lot of people.
The incidental music in the beginning where Bibi is running has more of a faster pace which allows for the audience to know that this actress is running for a reason. It allows for more suspense too because the audience know something bad is happening. The Shining is a prime example of having incidental music in the opening. Although it was slower, it still had the same purpose of creating suspense.
Another is the high and low angles that are used for conventions. This is previously done by Panic Room, which has several shots at many angles to emphasize different meanings. I used low and high angles to emphasize my meaning. The low angle allows for suspense and to see from the perspective of the actress. The high angles allow for the actresses facial expressions at that time.
The conventions used to create this was to have an actor run across the camera at a low angle. This was inspired by the film I researched which was called The Silence of the Lambs. Though the Silence of the Lambs was more of a casual run in the woods. The run I used to create a feeling of panic because the actress is running across school campus which is very unusual because since the time children were in elementary school, they are told not to run.
Another convention is the shot-reverse-shot. There are many films that I have researched that have shot-reverse-shot. This allows to see the reactions on the actors faces. This is emphasized on the last seconds of the opening in which both actors are confused on what to do which is plausible because this would confuse a lot of people.
The incidental music in the beginning where Bibi is running has more of a faster pace which allows for the audience to know that this actress is running for a reason. It allows for more suspense too because the audience know something bad is happening. The Shining is a prime example of having incidental music in the opening. Although it was slower, it still had the same purpose of creating suspense.
Another is the high and low angles that are used for conventions. This is previously done by Panic Room, which has several shots at many angles to emphasize different meanings. I used low and high angles to emphasize my meaning. The low angle allows for suspense and to see from the perspective of the actress. The high angles allow for the actresses facial expressions at that time.
3rd Quarter Submission
My 3rd quarter submission has been revised to have music in the beginning to make it have more of an impact. This is to show that Bibi is in the rush and that she is currently panicking that she is running all the way across campus to seek help in finding her instrument. These scenes are long takes to emphasis how big and how long she is running across the campus.
I also cropped and cut out people that were in the shot that would distract from the main event of what is currently happening. I also got rid of the card game because it was only a second long which did not make an impact on the film. I also added myself into these shots because either one or both the actresses could not make it or they were on a time constraint.
Another revision I did was to have the dissolve transition from the title to the actual scene because it was to abrupt otherwise. This transition made it smoother which is more appealing to the eye then having it cut right then and there.
Revision 3
This revision although small compared to the others makes it smoother for both parties involved. It allows for Bibi to walk a shorter distance in the angle which would be uncomfortable for her. It also shorter distance for Ethan to drag Bibi. It allows for the certain destination to be known instead of hiding behind another cement pillar.
Revision 2
The second revision will be at the end. The ending will be altered to give more context of what the two friends are going to do when they see the note. This would be a more realistic approach of what would happen when someone is missing. They would want to know if they should go to the authorities or if they should do an investigation on their own.
This ending will be the conflict of the film later on because they both are dealing on internal struggles of how to find their friend and who should be trusted or not. They must rely on each other to find their friend before the 48 hours are up and they will not be able to find their friend.
Another revision would be the over-the-shoulder shot of both Abby and Rebecca looking at the note. This will allow more of a dynamic because the audience will get to see what is written on the note to have the two actresses be baffled.
Revision 1
There were some complications on filming. Bibi cut her hair so I would not be able to use previous shots done. The scheduling was difficult because the actors had other prior engagements such as making up test, practices after school, or being sick. These filming re-shots took about 30 minutes. The filming had to be redone for several scenes because of the shakiness of hand or the blurriness of the picture taken.
The old version does not have the newly added scene before it. This revised version shows the new scenes of the film which helps improve the film due to being able to give more background knowledge of what is currently going on. It also gives more suspense to know that there is something dangerous lurking out there and that it needs to be found before it is too late.
Another revision is that of the location in which it will be taken in discussing the topic about recent unfortunate events of the missing instruments. Keara who is mentioned by Rebecca allows for more description of the recent happenings and how once the instruments are stolen then themselves. This allows for suspense because the audience knows what has happened but the actresses do not know. I will dismiss the claims because I would be the sensible one of the group and thinking innocently that nothing nefarious has happened to my friend when that certainly is not the case.
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