Final Submission

https://youtu.be/YV9QJM9PnbE

We were not able to do all of the revisions we would want to in our final project, mainly due to Aiden and I both getting sick, multiple family emergencies, and vacations. But if we had the opportunity, we would’ve reshot the first opening scene to make it seem less scripted and awkward. That would’ve been our biggest change. We also would have wanted to reshoot the over the shoulder shot of me looking at the file in my house and make it more stable and less like somebody is running with a camera.Apart from those two things, there wasn’t really much we could change apart from  Apart from those two things, there wasn’t really much we could change apart from maybe better audio and video quality, and remaking it on a new video editing software. Overall, the final product turned out to be pretty good even though we weren’t able to make revisions completely.

Creative Critical Reflection

https://youtu.be/KRb-kf9HC6M

CCR Question #4 Draft

We incorporated technology into the process of making this film by using what little we had, and what little we were comfortable with. The only real tools we used for the production of this film were our iPhone 8+’s, and school laptops. As previously mentioned, a lot of learning was done about the cameras on our cell phones and how to properly use their variety of settings to enhance video quality, efficiency, and speed. Not much learning was needed for iMovie, because both of us were very familiar with the platform. The only use for the laptops was to draft and upload our blogs and to email each other, so most work was done on our phones. Though the technology we used is not really meant for what we were doing, I believe that we did our job and we did our job well.

CCR Question #3 Draft

Going into this project, Aiden and I's production skills were average. We knew how to use our phones as cameras, we knew how to bare minimum edit videos, but we were going into this project confident enough that we can make a film and make it well. However, there was a lot of learning during the process of making our project. I had no clue about camera settings on my phone before this production started. All I knew is that you can take pictures, film videos, and that was kind of it. I learned a lot about lens settings, camera filters, and proper ways to zoom in and zoom out. As for editing, I was very comfortable with iMovie, even though it is a very basic tool. I’ve been using iMovie since late in my elementary school days when I worked on the news show for our school. We did end up using iMovie in the end product, which might’ve been a bit of a poor decision considering it’s hard to do a lot of advanced things on it. Organizing in planning for filming was way harder than I anticipated it to be. Aiden and I both got sick multiple times during filming, Both of us went on vacation multiple times, and there were some family emergencies that made us not able to come to school. all of these things hindered our ability to film at a desired time, so we were only able to do a few retakes. I know have a much greater respect and admiration for film crews on movies. Even though I’ve made small films and videos since elementary school, this specific project is the one that I have learned the most from.

CCR Question #2 Draft

In my audience engagement research, I learned how much little forms of advertisements, like social media pages and posters, have an effect on sales and profiting by the time the movie is released to the public. And as for out overall plan, We plan to market our film in two ways, including TV commercials, and the main one being a social media account. We are going to make a social media account on Instagram where we post updates on the film, behind the scenes, and advertisements. We hope that from people seeing the page, they will be enticed by our work, and possibly want to support us by watching our film. After all of that settles and the release date becomes closer, we can pay the theaters to play our film. If our ads don't go so well, and our budget gets cut, a straight to video release may be in order. This will be effective because it worked so well on other films of the same genre, like Cult of Chucky, Get Out, and a quiet place.

CCR Question #1 Draft

We used conventions like POV shots of the antagonist, distorted font, and eerie sound effects to really challenge the usage of these similar aspects in other horror/thriller movies. The main reason we challenge these certain conventions was because these aspects of horror and thriller movies are relatively cliché and overused. We tried to incorporate them in a very unique way that has not been done before to sort of refresh them and make them seem brand new. To be more specific, we used the angled shot of my character's face seeming oblivious to the murderer being in his house to show that there is no suspicion that there is anyone coming after him.We used trespassing as a charge on the murderer's profile to foreshadow that he will soon be trespassing in the protagonist's house. The only social groups I could respectfully classify Aiden and I in are High School Students and A Friend Group, but we use our film making abilities to make our characters in a friendly group, and a working facility group. Though doing this was a bit challenging, because acting is very new to us, I feel like we pulled it off just enough to make it clear to the audience.

3rd Quarter Submission

The first revision we made was adding another part of the opening sequence that tells us exactly where we are, which is the Ferguson and Bracewell detective office. We added this into make sure the audience knew what the character’s careers were and how it related to the criminal case. It also paves the way for more scenes of the characters doing detective worker tasks, so it just makes the rest of the movie overall more clear.

Another revision we made to the movie was a transitional slide after the conversation with the two detectives. We had this in to make it more clear with the detective goes after work. Which is back to his home office to work on the case. This transition provides extra clarity and make sure the audience does not get confused about the direction of the plot.

The final revision we made for our third-quarter submission was adding a small phrase “or you will be taken” after it says “watch your back”. This change doesn’t necessarily do anything to the plot, but it adds a sort of catchphrase along with watch your back that could possibly make our film more marketable to a wider variety of audiences.

https://youtu.be/YV9QJM9PnbE

Revision #3

The final revision we made for our third-quarter submission was adding a small phrase “or you will be taken” after it says “watch your back”. This change doesn’t necessarily do anything to the plot, but it adds a sort of catchphrase along with watch your back that could possibly make our film more marketable to a wider variety of audiences.

Revision #2

Another revision we made to the movie was a transitional slide after the conversation with the two detectives. We had this in to make it more clear with the detective goes after work. Which is back to his home office to work on the case. This transition provides extra clarity and make sure the audience does not get confused about the direction of the plot.

Revision #1

The first revision we made was adding another part of the opening sequence that tells us exactly where we are, which is the Ferguson and Bracewell detective office. We added this into make sure the audience knew what the character’s careers were and how it related to the criminal case. It also paves the way for more scenes of the characters doing detective worker tasks, so it just makes the rest of the movie overall more clear.

Distribution Plan

Our overall plan is to either put the movie in theaters, or put it straight to digital video. If we make enough money back from out advertisements, we can pay the theaters to play our film. If our ads don't go so well, and our budget gets cut, a straight to video release may be in order. We will then sell the rights to our film to a company that specializes in the horror/thriller genre, such as Blumhouse productions, but if the budget still doesn't make it up to par, we could sell to a smaller company that also specializes in the horror/thriller genre, such as Dark Castle Entertainment. Either way, our movie, whether it's digital or theatrical, will reach the public through any means necessary.

Distribution Research- Ready or Not

Ready or Not is a suspense/horror movie that released in 2019 and was a theatrical release that then went to digital video services and DVD. It had lots of ads, ranging to billboards, a FaceBook account, and internet ads.  We can incorporate these by improving our existing Instagram account, making ads for the film, and creating posters to better advertise our film.

Distribution Research- Halloween (2018 Remake)

Halloween is a suspense/horror movie that released in 2018 and was a theatrical release that then went to digital video services and DVD. It had lots of ads, ranging to billboards, social media accounts, internet ads, and even was one of the main movie themes at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. While we don't plan on paying an amusement park to make an attraction based on our film due to our budget, however internet ads, a social media account, and billboards seem like a better idea and way closer to our price range. We can incorporate these by improving our existing Instagram account, making ads for the film, and creating posters to better advertise our film.

Distribution Research- Cult Of Chucky

Cult of Chucky is a suspense/horror movie that released in 2017 and was a straight to DVD and Netflix release. It had lots of ads, ranging to billboards, social media accounts, internet ads, and even attraction at Universal Studios. While we don't plan on making an amusement park attraction due to our budget, internet ads, a social media account, and billboards seem like a better idea and way closer to our price range. We can incorporate these by improving our existing Instagram account, making ads for the film, and creating posters to better advertise our film.

Traditional Distribution Model

The traditional distribution model for a film is a movie starts by being advertised on television, in other movie's previews, internet ads, and billboards and posters. It then moves to the theaters around the world, or go straight to digital depending on the film's budget and quality. I could utilize this model by advertising as much as possible in the beginning, then finally roll out the movie after many other people have heard about it through said ads.

Marketing Plan

We plan to market our film in two ways, including TV commercials, and the main one being a social media account. We are going to make a social media account on Instagram where we post updates on the film, behind the scenes, and advertisements. We hope that from people seeing the page, they will be enticed by our work, and possibly want to support us by watching our film.

Audience Engagement Research- Us

The audiences for the film "Us" and our movie are similar because they both have the thriller genre, but leans more on the horror side than other films we've analyzed. It has a strong R rating, which is a bit more graphic than our's but still appealing to people who are fans of these types of films. They marketed their film like most others, They marketed their movie just like any other big film, they made TV commercials, they posted posters outside the theater, and they set up social media accounts for the movie. These techniques are effective, so I would use all of them to market my product. The only technique they used was Ethos because the commercials and posters tell you reviews from big critics with a big name, which show how good the movie really is.

Audience Engagement Research- Ma

The audiences for Ma and our movie are similar because they both have the suspense/thriller genre, which caters to fans of that movie type, and it has a rated R rating, which is a bit more graphic than our's but still appealing to people who are fans of these types of films. They marketed their film like most others, They marketed their movie just like any other big film, they made TV commercials, they posted posters outside the theater, and they set up social media accounts for the movie. I would use all of them to market my product. The only technique they used was Ethos because the commercials and posters tell you reviews from big critics with a big name, which show how good the movie really is.

Art of the Title Class Activity

One of the movie openings I thought was very well done was the opening to the Marvel movie "Deadpool". Some of the comments said that it was an extremely creative and unique, that the amount of effort put into the opening was massive, and how funny it was and made the audience crack up laughing. In our film opening, we might use the aspects of the wide shots and establishing shots before people start getting killed.

Audience Engagement Research- Murder on the Orient Express

Our target audiences are similar because they both fall into the categories of age and interests. They both have the PG-13 rating, and they both have the Thriller/Drama genres. They marketed their movie like any other big film, they produced TV commercials, they posted ads outside the theater, and they set up social media accounts for the movie. I would use all of them to market my product. The only technique they used was Ethos because the ads tell you reviews from big critics with a big name.

My Target Audience

The age range for out movie is around the PG-13 age range, so ages 13 and up can enjoy it. The gender doesn't matter, as long as you like the genre. The movie will be available worldwide, but English speaking areas will enjoy it most. The income level is based on if you can afford a movie ticket, but it isn't really a high-class suit and tie movie, we just want to give a fun experience. The education level is middle school and up due to the PG-13 rating. The personal interests that would spark interest in the movie is murder stories, suspense, mystery, and horror. The thing that would be appealing to our audience is the thrill and horror of a mysterious murder story, with jumpscares and intense adrenaline.

Midterm Submission Feedback Post

The promotion went really well and we got overall good feedback from our audience. We are going to end up re shooting multiple scenes, including the entire beginning portion, the over the shoulder shot in the house, and the murder scene. We may tweak the editing, but we'll have to see about that. These changes will make the interactions between Aiden and I less awkward and staged, and the over the shoulder shot will be more centered and less shake will be seen. We will carry out these changes by finding a usable office space to shoot the beginning, and set up a tripod to shoot the over the shoulder shot.

Use of Conventions

Our film challenges the conventions of the Suspense/Thriller/Horror genres by adding multiple cliches to the point where the audience notices that it is in a comedic way. The social group that is represented are the people that put these cliches in movies.