Creating our Soundscape

     As we began filming, we took all we had learned from previous lessons to know we could NOT leave the audio as is. So as soon as we started the production process, we made sure to take several pauses to gather what sound we wanted to each specific scene. Whether it was a branch cracking or leaves crunching we did it all. 

    We have been doing this simultaneously because as we film, we have been exposed to many sounds that are usually heard at night, like crickets and such. Because we are making these sounds ourselves, we have a greater control on the sound's tempo, and how intense it is.

Shot List

 Detective Board Part 1

1. Medium shot of beginning of the board
2. Tracking shot over Actors close up of name
3. Tracking shot over Music through yarn close up of name
4. Zoom into picture

Forest Part 1

1. Close up of poster on floor
2. Pan up from poster
3. Close up of feet walking over posters
4. Long shot of search party
5. Close up of flashlights
6. medium/long shot someone leaves crowd with backlighting

Detective Board Part 2

1. Tracking close up over producer names
2. Tracking shot over Cinematographer/ writer
3. Zoom into a picture of Benjamin

Forest Part 2

1. close up tracking of feet walking
2. Medium shot handheld waist up, expressions
3. Long shot pans sideways
4. Extreme close up of him clenching flashlight

Detective Board Part 3

1. Tracking close up of editor name
2. tracking close up of director
3. Zoom into long shot of Benjamin

Forest Part 3

1. Long shot of ben over hill, backlighting
2. Zoom into Ben his back turned to camera
3. Medium shot 
4. Pan down zoom close up of hand

Detective Board Part 4

1. Long shot entire board
2. Walk backwards into over the shoulder of the detective

Solidified Audio

    In my original post, I mentioned the use of music and how it would help fill the silence, but we were still undecided on the idea of incorporating it at all. After consulting our teacher, she made us realize quickly that our film, since the credit sequence forms a great part of it, would just be silenced. So, I suggested adding music only to the detective board segment but that would also look silly, and then I proposed maybe playing a song the whole film and just lowering the volume on the areas where there are specific noises we want our audiences to hear. That was also quickly shut down, which is when we landed on just having the track play the entire time in low-ish volume as to not take away from the actual film.

   

     For the majority of the opening, we are going to have this music, and as we reach the end of the credit sequence and progress to the film itself, we will have the music fade out, to signal the end of the opening and that the actual film would be starting. This is also so that we can really emphasize all the sounds going into our soundscape for this project.

   As soon as we landed on how much music we were going to use, it came time for us to search for the music itself. We knew it could not have lyrics since it would take away from our film, so we started looking at instrumental songs. But with this came the challenge of finding one that had a suspenseful feel and a buildup which could be used to represent the paranormal element, our monster.

    Our first idea was to look for non-copy right classical music but none of them were serious enough and felt too formal. Eventually, we turned to Spotify for help and literally looked up suspenseful copy right free music, but none of those songs worked either and really had none of the characteristics we were looking for in our song. 

    After giving up on those we looked at the YouTube Audio Library, since we remembered it had been highly recommended. Much to our surprise, they had tons of good options, and we are certainly debating using one of these audios.

    As far as a final verdict, we are still pondering between these options and hope to have a clearer idea once we have finished filming the visual part and just seeing which one matches the mood better.

Screen play

     A screenplay is a script for media productions like movies or television programs. It contains a variety of components, including character actions, setting descriptions, and dialogue. Though in written form, it resembles a storyboard. The information it gives the film's director is essential for making the movie. This is necessary to keep everything cohesive and have everyone on the same page because movies are lengthy.

    Prior to this project I had never made a screen play and therefore was not sure how too. Thankfully me and my partner figured it out and managed to create one for our specific genre. Although not perfect, I'd say it definitely gets the job done and creates the atmosphere we wanted to have. Our film does not have a lot of dialogue and is mainly just 'background' noise.

Costume

     We are basing our costume design on the 2000s teenage fashion in America, which was heavily centered around jeans and colorful tops. We are doing this because although it will be very dark, we want some color to come through to represent childhood within our characters and their lack of experience in life. This is all for our secondary characters. For Benjamin, we are going to have him wearing either jeans or shorts with a colorful shirt and some basic shoes, in the case of boys, everything was very baggy. Amber, when alive would have worn more tight-fitting clothes and often times, jeans.

On the other hand, rather than a relaxed look like the other characters, we decided we wanted the detective to have a very sleek professional look to him, always wearing a trench coat and a hat and either jeans to tie him in with the era or neutral pants.

Audio Planning

 Audio and sound!

Audio will play an important role in the creation of our film opening. Although there won't be much dialogue we aim to capture a variety of sounds and put them together in order to make everything sound more organic whilst filtering what is and is not heard. We also know we want to at some point include music for suspense, though we have not decided on one just yes.

    Something that we have been actively talking about thought are the noises we want our supernatural monster to create. Me and my partner decided that we are going to make the primary sound effect the 'clicking' noises that will signify the creature is approaching. Immediately after our group meeting me and my partner came together and realized we had, had the same idea for the noise and so we recorded a voice memo of what we thought it would sound like.

    We have been on the search for these clicking noises and have thus far been unsuccessful. With that in mind, my partner found one that is pretty close to what we want. The only real issue with it would be the fact that it has some music and other sounds layered on top. We are going to attempt to use 'splitterai' which was a resource recommended by someone in the class but if that does not work, we will have to just tweak our voice memo and make do with that.

    

    Apart from that, the rest will be primarily foley, organic noises, since our film is set in nature and we want to capture all those noises that would not be caught all in one take.

Lighting research

     Since, for my film opening we have chosen the 'Horror' genre with this research I made sure to focus on the characteristics specific to creating the scary atmosphere. These films take advantage of peoples fear of the dark and use this overwhelming darkness to set the tone and mood for the film. With that being said I focused primarily on techniques involving the use of shadows since it is said they have the ability to trick the mind. I was very interested in the effects different techniques had on their audiences, so I also made sure to address that through different techniques.

Exposure

    Exposure plays a big role in film because the heavy manipulation of lighting can help conceal a character whilst still making it known that they are out there, creating a mysterious mood. This silhouette is created using backlighting and can be seen in The Exorcist as the priest is seen mysteriously exiting the premises. As well as in Psycho, with the same objective of engaging the audience's attention.

The Exorcist (1973)

Psycho (1960)

Low-key lighting

Low-key lighting is the primary lighting style used in horror films. Using the shadows to create contrast is possible with low-key lighting. The other techniques I covered can also make advantage of these shadows. Low-key lighting highlights the production's emotion and tone while also fostering feelings in the audience, such as nervousness. Although similar to the previous technique, this type of lighting allows for more detail to come through like facial expressions, and clearer body language, which in some cases is needed to make the viewers feel more connected to the characters and as a result feel worry for them.

Selective lighting focus

This type of lighting allows for one focal point on the screen to be well lit whilst everything else remains obscure. By making only an aspect of the shot well lit is creates emphasis on that specific thing. For example in The Others, this is done to emphasize the girls expression and allows for the audience to get a feel for what is upcoming. 

Observation

Overall, for we are attempting to accomplish I think we are going to focus on using mainly low-key lighting and selective lighting focus in order to convey the message of urgency within our film. We are going to take advantage of how early the sun has been going down and we will be filming strictly at nighttime.

References

Ltd, DBMA Ltd T/A Tutti Site built in partnership with SixBerries. “8 Great Horror Film Lighting Examples.” Tutti.space, 18 Oct. 2022, www.tutti.space/blog/8-great-horror-film-lighting-examples.

Ltd, DBMA Ltd T/A Tutti Site built in partnership with SixBerries. “8 Great Horror Film Lighting Examples.” Tutti.space, 18 Oct. 2022, www.tutti.space/blog/8-great-horror-film-lighting-examples.

Character development

Creating our cast!

We took our time making sure that the characters we were including would be relevant and serve a purpose in the film.

Detective- 

    When coming up with our protagonist we knew we wanted it to be someone essential to the film, who's actions had the ability to heavily influence their surroundings. At first, we thought to make Amber the lead but since she would ultimately die, we needed someone that was able to provide a resolution to the film.

    When it came to naming this particular persona, we choose to keep them nameless to add mystery to his character. This person goes by "Detective J" and that is the only letter of his name given to the public. He values his privacy above all else and believes everyone is out to get him. We thought it would be very fitting to have the person responsible for solving the case of the disappearances be a mysterious individual himself. 

    He always appears serious and even when things are intended to be silly, he is the type of person to take everything literally. Apart from that, he has an impeccable work ethic and once he begins a new project it becomes very hard to persuade him to not put a pause on his everyday life. Because of this people often describe him as selfless but almost cold because he is incapable of showing compassion which is why most people use him as a last resort since most agree it is not enjoyable to work with him.

    An essential part of our character, Detective J, is that he is only ever seen in professional attire. This includes his signature trench coat and his hat as well as his cork board since it acts like and escaped for him. All of these things happen because he is very OCD and needs everything to be organized in a way unique to him.

Amber-

    Amber is named after amber alerts and is meant to symbolize innocence and purity since most victims in these alerts are young children or oblivious teenagers. When alive she is a bubbly persona surrounded by people who love her. Her death is what causes the town to go into utter chaos because she was such a sweet kind girl. 

    She was a freshman high school student, barely 15, she participated in every club and was friends with absolutely everyone. She loved helping others and seeing them smile so she spent every afternoon volunteering at the senior center.

Benjamin-

    Benjamin moved from England just last year. He is super behind on everything so him parents are forcing him to volunteer at the senior center for service hours. He lived in the same neighborhood as Amber and therefore was asked to go drop off some papers at her house. He was always very lazy and rebellious, but he had a strong sense of intuition and therefore felt like he had to go.

    When he arrived, he heard loud commotion coming from inside the house his curious nature causes him to further investigate, which is when he, unknowingly, makes himself the monster's next target.

Film Idea

 Summary of our Film

    After weeks of discussion we finally came up with a concrete idea of what our movie plot would be. The most important element which would be emphasized throughout would be a cork board, belonging to the protagonist a detective. We plan to use this board to jump into different scenes relating to disappearances. Our goal is, to have the opening scene, the jumps from the board to the missing people, to serve as a foreshadowing of the whole film.

    The general concept of our film is people abruptly disappearing in unnatural ways. People, such as the detective, set out to find the cause of the piling missing reports only to discover a monster is behind it all. This monster is ultimately revealed at the end of the film alongside the discovery of the corpses of the missing people. 

    As previously stated, we will have a detective be our protagonist. He would be introduced to the film towards the end of the opening scene when the shot will become zoomed out and turn into an over the shoulder shot of someone clearly pensive.

    The movie would begin with the chaos of a search party frantically searching for a young girl which is quickly followed by the disappearance of a young boy, except this time the audience gets to see him go missing. The majority of the film would take place at night outside with the exception of the detectives office which would have been brightly lit. Throughout the course of the film the detective embarks on numerous adventures and faces countless travesties in hopes of finally catching the culprit. Which in the final seconds of the movie would be shown as well as the extent of harm the creature managed to cause without repercussion. 

Storyboard for the film opening

Storyboard

    

    After quickly establishing our ideas, me and my partner, begun working on the storyboard. We first took note of the required credits and made sure we left space for them. From there, we begun drawing and writing what shot would be used or what would be happening within each scene. Hopefully no one is overwhelmed by my gorgeous art. We wanted our project to kind of foreshadow what would happen in "the rest" of the film and also clearly convey who the main protagonist will be.

1st Group meeting reflection

 Group Meeting 1

    We are finally at week three of our film opening project and all our ideas are finally being finalized and with the help of this meeting, edited. When we got to class, we quickly got situated with our groups. Within my group I had only ever spoken to one other person before and it was always brief, so I was really excited to hear their input on my ideas. I also really liked that only one other person was doing the horror/thriller genre because that meant I got a chance to hear different perspectives and outlooks to the same task.

    I really liked that all group members shared their URLs with each other because first we got to know a little more about what each person was thinking. Specifically, I was asked some questions about what "horror" movie basic characteristics I would be included and was offered some feedback on how to incorporate these elements. My group's idea is to create a horror/thriller movie based on amber alert, specifically the disappearances not the kidnapping. I was sharing with the group how we want to have a supernatural force that is behind all of the missing people, but we weren't sure how to achieve that. Some people though, cleverly, suggested that I, rather than show this supernatural force, just make it be heard.

    I fell in love with this idea and the second the meeting ended I ran to discuss with my partner exactly what I had in mind. We completely agreed that that was perfect for the ominous character we are trying to make of this "monster".

    Overall, everyone really liked my idea and they thought we had come up with a pretty original concept so I didn't really receive any critique but I did however gain ample resources thanks to my group. Everyone had used one or two of these sites and it was really helpful to know that if I needed anything related to their uses I would be okay.

    I'm most glad that I finally decided on a font for my credit sequence. I was really struggling with that and I shared my concern with the group members and one of them had a really cool app where you could type out styles and it suggests font types so that's how I landed on "Felt Tip". The app is called Adobefonts and if you have access to Adobe, I highly suggest getting it because it was super helpful and made my vision a reality.

Todorov's Narrative Theory of Equilibrium

Disequilibrium

    Me and my partner plan to Integrate this theory into our project by causing disequilibrium before the climax. This theory states that the production must cause an 'initial disruption' to a protagonist's life, it also involves an acknowledgement of this disruption and an attempt to combat this.

    We aim to achieve this by immediately causing a disturbance amongst specific characters by, making them go 'missing', and showing how these activities negatively affect our protagonist from the get-go. "AMBER" would be one of those films where a series of events unfold but the audience is too far into the timeline so immediately after the opening scene everything backtracks.

If we created an entire film, it would follow these guidelines, like most productions do. This is because following similar patterns allows audiences to easily follow along without losing focus on the film and creates a concrete baseline.

View. “Todorov Theories and Short Film Analysis.” Caitlin French A2 Media , 10 July 2017, caitlina2media.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/todorov-theories-and-short-film-analysis/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.

Scores in Horror Films

Scores and their effects in Horror Films

When I started the genre research I took notice of the effect scores, or the music made specifically for the film, has on mood and interpretation of the horror films. I realized that their primary use in this specific genre is to forewarn the audience and creates suspense. This started surfacing when I began researching film openings and that is why I took such interest to them.

Jaws (1975)

In the case of Jaws, the score composed by John Williams is used exclusively to indicate the shark will make an appearance.  The song appears to grow louder and louder as the suspense intensifies within the scene further emphasizing that something critical is about to occur. When analyzing the use of the score within the film I realized how having the same instrumental music play every time Spielberg wanted to cause his audience that nervous on edge feeling makes it the immediate response when the music begins since it is so iconic to its scenes. Obviously with my partner we only aim to produce an opening but having background music to intensify suspense is something I have learned is essential. This is because otherwise there are some scenes that look almost lacking without this component.

 

Psycho (1960)

In the case of Psycho, producer Bernard Herrmann wrote the score of the film with the same intention as Williams, to warn audiences that something was about to happen. This movie efficiently uses this soundtrack to make seemingly normal scenes appear frightening from an outsider perspective. Often times creating the viewers to become frustrated with the movie characters since these songs make is so obvious that whatever force of nature is roaming around is nearing the scene. 

Overall, with this newfound knowledge on scores and the impact music makes to set the tone for a scene I might be inclined to attempt to compose something for my piece. I do know that if me and my partner decide to incorporate music it will be 100% instrumental since that seems to be a common theme withing the horror genre.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Jaws (Soundtrack).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Jan. 2025.

“The 13 Scariest Horror Film Soundtracks Ever Written.” Classic FM, 30 Oct. 2024, www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/film-tv/scariest-horror-soundtracks-music-scores/.

Film Opening Project Schedule!

TIMELINE

Thanks to the previous projects we've done in this class the importance of creating a plan seems to be an important part of building the foundation to your project. Scheduling is necessary because it will help me stay on track as well as not forget about any elements of the planning period.

Week 1 (1/29-2/2)

• Identify how I'm going to utilize what I've learned and applying it to my production
• Begin researching genres of interest and taking note of elements, I like

Week 2 (2/3-2/9)

• Research horror film opening, take note of the elements
• Research horror films opening credits and the characteristics
• Research the purpose of scores in horror
• Elaborate on basic research

Week 3 (2/10-2/16)

• Storyboard 
• Brainstorm Mise-en-scene elements
• Reflect on project idea
• Begin and finalize script

Week 4 (2/17-2/23)

• Develop characters, identify main character
• Discuss costuming, and lighting
• Start discussing what sound elements we want to use and if we want to compose a score
• Start filming

Week 5 (2/24-3/2)

Begin creating and gathering supplies needed for our film

Decide what lighting techniques we will use in each scene

Film a behind the scenes blog

Set aside all foley and other audios we plan to use

Week 6 (3/3-3/9)

• Finish up filming
• Determine if we want to redo anything
• Edit!

Week 7 (3/10-3/16) and Week 8 (3/17-3/25)

• Complete all CCR

 

Research on Horror Film Openings

Film Openings

In order to start planning for my project I started researching film openings from horror and thriller films so that I could get an idea of what goes into the production process. I looked at how elements of mise-en-scene, lighting, sound, and movement all played a role in the interpretation of the film and the mood it created.

The Conjuring (2013)

The beginning of the film starts with non- diegetic sound of a narrator explaining the dolls origin. Then the shift turns to a two shot of the two nurses on the couch showing that these characters have a bond. Later I found out that this video was also a video in the movie as it cleverly zooms out to expose an exposition filled with students and the researchers from the "investigation". The Conjuring makes it very known how important and relevant these two characters are going to be throughout the film by, after they answers the student's questions and getting applauded, cutting to a black screen with their job description as well as an emphasis on how rare their positions are. My favorite aspect was the mention of the fact it is based on real events because I feel like that makes the audience feel much more wary of the topics discussed. The use of colors is all very strategic because whenever the haunted spirit is in the scene there are very dull dark colors and the use of shadows is amplified, but when, for example, it changed to the presentation everything is well lit and light colors signifying a safe space.

Bird Box (2018)

This film starts with an empty black screen, with a score playing which was written by Trent Reznor. This score has a very gloomy mood and that is further supported when the first image is shown. A crane shot reveals a foggy and dark scene of a lake and the forest that stretches as far as the eye can see, seemingly untouched by man. The fact that this area remains uncivilized is a foreshadowing of the fact that the people living in this society are limited by a risk factor that comes with the outside and opening of your eyes. Towards the end of the shot I was able to hear a woman's voice through the use of non- diegetic sound and then the film quickly shifted to a tight close up of the woman emphasizing her role of importance and that what she is telling her children is of extreme urgency. This film also uses the element of lighting to signify safety and danger, as clearly shown whenever they are outside everything becomes dark and foggy but indoors, they have everything brightly lit. Interestingly enough, I noted that the colors which appear very bright indoors are heavily muted when in a "danger" zone.

It (2017)

This film begins by showing a little boy dressed in a neon yellow raincoat. The yellow in this instance represents his innocence and naive-ity. This horror film also uses shadows to convey what they are trying to get across to the audience. In this instance the character "Pennywise" in almost fully engulfed in the shadows with the exception of the majority of his face and his one visible hand. The use of the bright red for the clown's lipstick serves as a warning sign much like how animals in the wild have vibrant colors to warn other animals of their danger. In the first two minutes the movie is superficially wholesome but when you take into account the fog, rain, and the use of the long shot to emphasize Georgie's solidarity all come together to hint that some evil force is upcoming. 

Overall, what I found most interesting is how lighting plays such a big role in the interpretation of a scene and how a mood can be transmitted through just the use of shadows. For my project I will definitely be experimenting with these different ways to make a scene feel gloomy and will attempt to incorporate contrasting elements like the cuts away from all the bad into normal human societies. The film I will mainly be referencing for these characteristics will likely be The Conjuring because in my opinion the way this film incorporates them is the best.

Research Credit Sequences Within Horror

Credit Sequences Research

Whilst researching films for my project I took notice of the copious components that go into making a good credit sequence and how to determine which components should be used. I saw how different fonts helped emphasize aspects of the film, like more comical fonts would signify its going to be a non- serious production and should be taken lightly. Moreover, the use of movement for each sequence drastically differs in accordance to what producers are trying to accomplish.

The Haunting (1963)

This particular film has a credit sequence on top of a series of images instead of a preview of the film. I noted that all the credits were centered on the screen but that before the title appeared the names were higher on the screen and afterwards, they become lower. The title appearing in the middle of the sequence is more remarkable than, for example, at the end or beginning. My favorite aspect of this sequence was the font, I thought it did a good job at portraying how rigid the film itself is and serves almost as a warning. Truthfully after watching this sequence I didn't feel enticed to keep watching because in my opinion the font and editing seemed a little childish to me though I know its due to how old the film is.

The Conjuring (2013)

This credit sequence is much more interactive than The Haunting in the sense that there's much more movement throughout and it has a more organic feel. By organic I'm referring to the fact the credits looks like they are being projected onto a screen and every so often you can see the shadow of a hand. Not to mention that the credits are incorporated very strategically by making them seem like parts of articles, newspapers, and posters, but emphasizing them by making them bold. This clever placement of the credits makes the audience feel like we are watching an undergoing investigation. The actual title of the film appears in the end of the sequence to allow the audience to know it will begin shortly after.

Midsommar (2019)

This film shows nothing but the credits and flowers. I thought is was very clever how Midsommer's editors used the actual names to create movement within the scene. Another aspect that was remarkable for me was the use of flowers to foreshadow some themes that can be seen through the movie. The titles appear centered on the screen when they are singular or duos, at a certain point the producers simply added full run downs of both cast and crew and these images stay on the screen for long periods of time. Everything to this point is in black and white with the exception of the flowers further highlighting that they will be important further on. Like The Haunting, the actual title of the movie appears in the middle and flows very well with all the other text.

    Based on all that I've learned I realized I want my credit sequence to incorporate movement because it is more visually interactive and can be a good tool to keep audiences engaged. Additionally, I loved how both Midsommer and The Conjuring both included elements that serve as hints to what the film is about. Regarding the fonts and placement of the text, I want to use a more professional font because my film will be centered around a serious topic and should not be taken lightly. 

Genre Research

Genres: Drama and Horror

    As soon as the Film Opening Portfolio project was introduced these genres came into mind. I've always loved the way films have the ability to create emotions in their audiences. Whether its fear, love, sadness, or joy I want to be able to transmit feelings through what I create.

Drama

    Drama films, in the simplest of terms, are serious stories that center themselves around completely plausible events. These TV shows and movies demonstrate one of these 3 conflicts: character vs. character, character vs. self, and character vs. external conflict. Ultimately the resolution of drama productions usually resolves in character development and growth. Some more specific characteristics of the genre include copious cathartic moments in the narrative, and the objective of classifying complex human emotions.

    The emotion I personally would want to convey through this genre would be unease or empathy. I want for the audience to feel uncomfortable when they see the film opening but feel as though they need to keep watching simply because they can't leave in a cliffhanger. It would include elements of isolation in people's everyday lives and how it can become overwhelming, since it is a very real emotion most people face often.

(2000 Pay It Foward directed by Mimi Leder)

In the case of Pay It Foward this is a romantic drama about a boy who wants to help his teacher make the world a better place. This film causes a rollercoaster of emotions, especially for me. After watching it the first time I cried for hours distraught at how Leder could possibly think is was okay to end such a wholesome film so tragically, I felt truly robbed of the happy ending. Then, I realized the reason the movie was so good is because of its authenticity and that's why it has remained so relevant in my mind to this day. 
    For the majority of the film the audience is captivated by this unlikely love story and how sensible everything comes to be all thanks to Trevor McKinney. Throughout the production I got to see why he is the way he is, and it caused me to have a strong sense of empathy for him and I felt pride when I saw how motivated he finally was. Ultimately, he is murdered after everything comes together and everyone is happy in a highly probable scenario, at which point the film ends.

Horror

    Horror films, have the singular objective of... You guessed it! Scaring people. These stories aim to get adrenaline coursing through audiences' bodies keeping them on edge and can be interpreted in different ways.  For example, a common audience is sensation-seekers that turn to horror films to help them induce fear. "Horror" is a part of every culture because they each have their stories and fear which help to rationalize why it is such a universal genre. Every horror film deals with at least one of these elements, the supernatural, death, witchcraft, after life, evil, powers, and other unexplainable occurrences.

    I'm mainly interested in the thrill aspect of horror and definitely aim to keep my audience on edge. I would like to incorporate unexplainable elements, death, as well as hints of supernatural activity. I don't love the gore aspect of the genre so my film would not be gruesome or display particularly off-putting scenes. I do however want to make this film opening very unique, which might be a challenge since so many horror films have already been made, since my goal is to lure the audience in and encourage them to search for similar content afterwards.

(1963 The Haunting directed by Robert Wise)

    In the case of The Haunting this horror movie is centered around the thrill characteristic of the genre and therefore can serve as a good reference for what I would want to accomplish. In the film the audience can see there are clear hints to paranormal activity as well as lots of death. In the film Dr. John Markway assembles a team of experts to try and decipher is the Hill House is in fact haunted.

    This production keeps people on edge by not clarifying if the house truly is haunted but instead listing events that could have merely been coincidental. Like for example, the strange and tragic deaths all the past owners of the Hill House have met. 

Transitioning into Cambridge Portfolio Project

    Hi Cambridge! Starting today my posts will be focused strictly on the development of my Final Cambridge Project. My pasts posts have helped me ease into learning all these media components and applying them to my tasks. In all honesty this transition is a little nerve wrecking because that means the final is fast approaching, regardless, I don't doubt I have been given the necessary tools to succeed. My past research and notes will certainly assist me on this path. With that being said, in order to transition into this project my class was given an introduction to film openings as well as a breakdown of their key characteristics, like identifying your approach and developing a clear purpose.

    My approach will consist of consulting my partner about which genre we want to do whilst keeping it a fiction film and clearly illustrating the genre's key conventions. Once that has been decided we will discuss which mis-en-scene elements we are going to use to ensure engagement with the audiences as well as cementing a tone. We are firstly going to focus on developing our characters and the effect of their actions, design, and dialogue.

     Otherwise, we will focus on developing the background to create the correct context ensuring that we will not have to rely on dialogue. We will have to decide which elements we will carry out through the opening and which of those are going to require emphasis as key elements.