Blog Post (production) - Stage 2

 

                             
Production

Mystery:

A mystery films purpose is to shock its viewer and they do this by not disclosing the killer so early on. People are expected to be nervous when viewing a mystery film. One of the greatest ways to utilize it is with a twist-ending.

Mystery employs the following shot angles:

They employ specific angles to instill dread or other emotions in the viewer. They employ skewed shots to make the audience uncomfortable. The Dutch tilt is utilized to create a sensation of psychological uneasiness in the viewer. Dolly zooming is the process of zooming in with the lens while physically moving the camera away, resulting in a skewed viewpoint that practically creates nausea in the spectator.

Imagination:

They wish to Captivate the audience's attention while allowing their imagination to run wild. What I mean is that imagination is frequently more terrifying than anything shown on TV. So why not use it on the victim? The body is frequently shown to the viewer in graphic detail in mystery films. Keep the body hidden for a subversion. Certainly, have characters speak about the victim, or maybe show a few pictures of the surroundings or extremities. But don't linger on the body. Allow the viewers to imagine the brutality for themselves. It will, in theory, keep them involved and make them more vulnerable to subsequent terror.

History:

The contemporary mystery is often regarded as having been invented by Edgar Allan Poe. He had a short tale published Auguste C. Dupin, literature's first fictional investigator, appeared in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841." It was a watershed event that saw the birth of an altogether new literary genre.

Production Firms:

Netflix:

Netflix is the world's largest streaming platform. They were able to gather almost 7.7 billion dollars in 2021, and they currently have around 207 million individuals registered to them.

Warner Brothers:

Warner Bros. was founded on April 4, 1923, and has since established itself as one of the best film production businesses. Warner Bros. earns $663 million every year. Warner Bros. also has a number of subsidiaries that specialize in various aspects of filmmaking, such as animation.

T-street:

T-street, a relatively new company, produced Knives Out which just recently became the company's highest-grossing film, with 311.4 million dollars.

Netflix will have to be the greatest option for us to use out of these three flicks. This is due to the income Netflix is able to generate on an annual basis, which would assist us with our film budget, as well as the amount of people who would view it if we put it on Netflix.

Blog Post (script) - Stage 2

                   What exactly is a script?

A script is a document that contains the dialogue, setting, character, and instructions on what to do in a film, television show, play, and so on. A script's purpose is to serve as the instructions for creating a film. A screen play is used to create a script for a film, whereas a teleplay is used to create a script for television. During the scriptwriting process, these individuals may unearth additional information about the topic that the original author could not have envisioned. A great screenplay is the cornerstone of a great performance, but it is not the only ingredient in the creative process.

What is the best way to compose a script?

Now that you know what a screenplay is, it's time to learn how to write one. The first thing you should do is write your log line. A log line is a statement that answers the inquiry, "What is the plot of my story?" It should include the plot's most dramatic question. This log line can be revised as you work towards a final draft of your screenplay, but it’s a helpful guiding light as you get deeper into the writing process.

The next stage is to create a therapy. Consider the treatment to be a better or more advanced version of the outline that seems more like a short tale. Then there's the screenplay. This is where the actual work begins once you are satisfied with your therapy. This is also where you can express yourself and let your thoughts blossom. After that, you must format your script. There are several script templates available online, as well as tools to download, to help you get started on your screenplay. Professional screenwriters usually employ a final draft. The final step is to edit your script. When you return to your script, pretend it's the first time you're reading it and ask yourself, "How would I read this?"

Examine it as a tale to discover where the problems are and what may be kept. Make a note of all the issues so you can address them later. From a website, these are six terms that a screenwriter should be familiar with: Masterclass.

Scene title: A scene header, also known as a slug line, appears at the top of each new scene and carries the following information: "EXT." or "INT." (abbreviations for "external" and "interior," respectively), the location, and the time of day. "INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - NIGHT," for example.

Action lines define what a character is doing in a scenario.

A parenthetical is a short instruction added before a character's line that indicates how the line should be delivered of your screenplay "FADE OUT" signals the conclusion of the video. Other transitions, such as "MATCH CUT TO" or "DISSOLVE TO," may be utilized throughout your script.

Voiceover: Also abbreviated as "V.O.," voiceover is employed when an unseen narrator enters the scene.

Camera angle: Though usually avoided by screenwriters, camera angles might be addressed in a script if they're important to the way a scene progresses, such as allowing the delivery of a joke or a huge reveal.

"FADE IN" comes before the very first line.

The old vs. the new

 Times have changed, and script writing has developed significantly. So we'll walk back and forth in time to see how a script was created and utilized. It all started in 1902 with the film "A Trip to the Moon." It was comparable to how scripts are nowadays. However, they employed what is known as a scenario, which is essentially a synopsis of the most crucial sections of the story. It has gotten closer to what we have now as time has passed since the 1900s. According to an article titled "Golden script," "Today, Final Draft is the standard program for screenwriting." However, due of the cost, beginning screenwriters often turn to free screenwriting tools suchAs a workaround, use CeltX or WriterDuet."

What I've discovered

This research has taught me what a screenplay is and what it does in and for a film. It also taught me how to write my own script, as well as how script writing originated and how it is now.

case studies

 

Knives Out

History/ Target Audience

Knives Out is a mystery film produced by T Street and distributed by Lionsgate Entertainment (Mini Major). Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman are the founders of the firm, which was launched in 2019. This video is aimed towards teens and adults who enjoy solving riddles and figuring out who the perpetrator is in a case.

Production

Knives Out has a $40 million budget. In 2005, Johnson came up with the concept for the film. Boston, Berlin, Easton, Marlborough, Natick, Wellesley, Maynard, Waltham, and Medfield were among the towns and cities included in the film. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer were among the stars cast in the picture.

Distribution

Knives Out was released in a standard format. The film was released in the year. The film had its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2019 and was released in cinemas on November 27, 2019. It was later made available on streaming platforms such as Apple TV, Vudu, and Amazon Prime Video.

Marketing

Knives Out was marketed based on its appealing characters and the fact that it was directed by the same person who helmed Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi. Posters, trailers, special screenings/premieres, and festivals/awards were used to promote the film. The film earned a total of $311.4 million worldwide.

Cross media convergence and synergy

When it comes to collaborating with other businesses, T Street has yet to do so in any of their films. Netflix has just agreed to pay $469 million for the rights to two sequels.

Sources 

https://time.com/5739679/knives-out-rian-johnson-making-of/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knives_Out

https://www.slideshare.net/robertclackmedia/productiondistributionexhibition-an-intro-final-for-media

                       Mystery Conventions

Openings are the first few minutes of a movie ranging from a few second to 7 minutes+ the purpose of an opening scene is to give the viewer a sense of what the rest of the movie/show is going to be about.

 The opening scene delivers an initial impression of your writing abilities, as well as serving a range of narrative functions that can elevate the storytelling level by immediately immersing the reader in the world of your screenplay or film. The Teaser is the first form of opening sequence.

to put it simply an opening scene is a small look into the whole movie and it pulls the viewer in so they want to watch the rest.

           My opening scene

My group used a variety of sources to gather information about  Mystery's in particular. We discovered the genre's history, evolution, and social functions. We conducted some research, both related and unrelated to the genre, to see if the presence of mystery and dark comedy in a film qualifies it as a mystery/ black comedy, and with the assistance and background information provided by my peers, we were able to expand our knowledge and overall understanding of different genres. 

The show New girl opens with a girl talking to herself looking directly into the camera then when she says "my story is kinda like that" it flashes back to 2 weeks ago it gives incite of what is going to happen later into the film then is flashes back to the present and she say's "that's why I need a apartment" then a cut revels she was talking to a group of people.

For my film I was planning on filming something similar. While I was researching I came across a Murder mystery that was also similar to that called " A simple favor "  that talks about her missing friend the flashing back to what happened, which is essentially what we (my group members and I)  are trying to do. We notice in a lot on mystery's movies are films in the fog and/or rain in schools "A Simple Favor" for example. The character also don't revel much about but slowly revel things bit by bit as the story progresses.

Conventions

I was actually planning on making a mystery/dark humor opening scene and using this method to film it learned that, usually mysteries have a dark ambiance to it and eerie lighting usually people don't were light/bright colors the usual composition of a murder mystery has 3 main characters: the victims, the murderer and the detective.

and many other small components that I did not even realize shown below

                                       

A mystery is a narrative with five simple yet essential ingredients. The characters, the setting, the narrative, the issue, and the solution are the five components. These crucial factors ensure that the plot moves forward properly. Allow the clues to the mystery's solution to be delivered in a logical, reader-friendly manner.

Another convention I noticed  is that with the titles are usually sharp ends on at least one of the words, take up a good portion of the cover and have a simple but elegant look to them. the people within the film and on the cover are sophisticated and there is bold statement colors. The titles also seem to revel how the whole conflict happens like "a simple favor" all started because of a Simple Favor.

      

Stereotypes

There is a stereotype that girls are obsessed with a good crime and "who done it" and this actually have a historic context that can be found here and here but basically our film is trying to attract women. Over the time of researching I found a method to attract female viewer which is catering to the female gaze.

Many other stereotypes and troupes can be found here

Characters

The tale's characters are the people that are the focus of the story. The characters in the story should be introduced by the author. A narrative with enough detail for the reader to picture each character This is accomplished by supplying specific information. Physical characteristics and psychological features of a character are described. There should be a primary character in every narrative.

Reflection

A mystery film is a type of film in which the protagonist is tasked with solving a problem or solving a crime. It centers on the detective's, private investigator's, or amateur sleuth's efforts to uncover the mystery around an issue using clues, inquiry, and deductive reasoning. A key distinction between fiction and nonfiction mysteries is that fiction mysteries nearly always conclude with the mystery being solved, but nonfiction mysteries are usually written to address unresolved problems.

References/sources 

https://www.penguin.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/camjansen/CamDownloadables/FiveEssentialElementsofaMystery.pdf

https://www.moviemaker.com/how-to-start-a-script/

https://literaryterms.net/mystery/

https://www.writersdigest.com/there-are-no-rules/5-types-opening-scenes-make-story-stand#:~:text=Opening%20scenes%20introduce%20characters%2C%20plots,where%20the%20story%20is%20going.&text=They%20already%20have%20an%20%E2%80%9Cintroduction,them%20in%20the%20first%20place).

analyzing different editing software 

To edit and produce a good film, intro, or clip it is vital to have a good editing software. The functionality is important to things like the software being, web -based, having the ability to lay multiple tracks, pull audio off video tracks, and the ability to offer collaboration(multiple people working on it at once). With all of these you have everything you would need to make a truly amazing video.

Cilpchamp

 I was using the editing software cilpchamp.com and it was ok. I liked the functionality and how easy it was to maneuver. I would definitely recommend to beginners that don't want anything to complicated. It has templates and the ability to lay video/picture over one another. It is also web-based, which is nice because access is much easier. The website is user friendly and is not intimidating to look at and get started. They way everything is presented is fun and it makes you just want to jump in. To lay tracks together all you need to do it click, hold, and drag which you will see if you watch the brief tutorial they give in the introduction. The downside are that you must unfortunately pay for better quality, you also cannot export with this software unless you become a premium member which is 39$ monthly and 27$ yearly. You can adjust the sound of  a video accordingly, with either no sound or high volume in a original video or added.

You are also able to mute tracks quite easily. You also have the ability to add sound to to a track. so over all you are able to:

.-accessible from anywhere (web-based) YES

- ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video) YES

- ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video YES

- ability to collaborate with other users  YES/NO

Openshot

   I used Openshot and it was terrible. At first glance you would think that everything is there and it would be super easy but it was awful and not user friendly you can't even attach audio correctly. Although, it has many useful items and templates it is not worth the heartache and headache you will go through. I used it for an assignment I was supposed to do but because of it I could not even do it thankfully my teacher was understanding. The over all look of Openshot is very nice and very sophisticated and even though I'm talking so bad about it if you don't mind with putting up with a lot of problems this time this is for you. Moreover it is not web-based meaning you will have to download it, so it is not accessible everywhere. This application also has template transitions and font to use and a tutorial to help you understand, it still won’t be of much help. One plus that I can think of is that you can send your project to different people or yourself.

-accessible from anywhere (web-based) NO

- ability to lay multiple tracks (both audio and video) YES/but not easily

- ability to strip or mute audio and natural sounds from video YES

- ability to collaborate with other users YES

Overall

  To make a long story short while both have their up and downsides Cilpchamp is overall more user friendly it has guides and people there who can help you, and if all your doing is working on a quick school project and want to impress you friends this is the video website editor for you but on the other hand if what you are looking for is something sophisticated and wont need to work on it except in the comfort of your own home this is the app for you while Clipchamp has many more upsides don't let that discourage you from using openshot because it is really great software, a real diamond in the rough and if you use it right with all the help you are given, you can make a really great video.

signing off,

Kayhanah St Victor

Cinematography

  

 What is cinematography?

What exactly is cinematography and how is it used? Well, cinematography can be broken into parts, but basically cinematography is used in angles and shots to build depth and tension in a shot/character. That's what makes it so useful it can portray emotion without the words, characters, or objects.

What is your background research?

In cinematography there are several methods to arrange a shot and, as a result, communicate meaning. Whether through film or video, the spatial connection to the camera is critical in creating, sustaining, and/or changing the viewer's impression of the character and context of the shot or film. Cinematography is the decions made about the lighting, filters, position/movement, and everything going into making a shot.

Content application

I watched many videos on cinematography and read many articles on how it works. I wrote notes along with the article and videos I seen in the class and applied it to my blog. I used the sources below and referred to them multiple times to put in my notes to apply to my blog.

a while back we also used this information to make an excel and "identify shot types"

Filmmakers employ camera views and angles to assist the viewer grasp the story. These aspects are necessary for filmmakers to be able to portray key areas of the film from various perspectives. Long shot, Medium shot, and Close-up shot are the three primary types of shots that define how close or far the camera is from the subject. When developing a film or photo essay, each shot has a specific purpose. The camera angle is crucial in addition to the camera shots. Another technique to provide the viewers new viewpoints and information is to shoot a photo from a different angle.

Reflection

I know that cinematography is includes lighting, filters, position/movement, and everything else that goes into creating a shot. I would like to further my knowledge in different shots and to better identify the feel of each shot and how it ties together. I learned that each shot tells a story and each shot has a meaning to the overall film.

References/sources

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cinematography

https://filmglossary.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/term/cinematography/

https://www.nfi.edu/cinematographer/ (<favorite source)

see you next time!

 sincerely,

Kayhanah St Victor