Our Shooting Schedule

 Due to the involvement of five people in the making of this film, it is difficult to find a time where everyone is available all at the same time due to our differing schedules. Because of this, it is important that we plan out a schedule for when we will meet and shoot our film so that we can ensure we are all available and present for production at the same time. Fortunately for us, Saturday, March 2nd was a lucky day as we all were present for the vast majority of the day, allowing us to be able to finish our entire rough cut and record a few sound effects over a span of about 9 hours. This was our shooting schedule based on our availability and roles.

Saturday, 3/2/19, 1:00PM

Director Pierce Thomas, Cinematographer and Actress Katelyn Wagner, and Actor Robert Thomas arrive together at the shooting location. The editor (me) and production designer Bianca Raby will not be arriving for about 3 more hours, so they will check out the location, plan out what kind of establishing shots we could get and how it is going to be shot, and gather any last minute supplies needed, such as the red cloth in the film that we were not able to obtain beforehand.

Saturday, 3/2/19, 2:00 PM

Pierce, Robert, and Katelyn are now able to check in to the hotel room, where they will go inside early and survey the room, planning out how we are going to shoot and getting the room ready for filming. They get their equipment set up (tripods, cameras, etc.). Having an early look at the room before shooting allows for changes to be made last minute if the room, for example, isn't what we thought it was and unfortunately for us doesn't fit our vision exactly.

Saturday, 3/2/19, 4:00 PM

Editor (me), and production designer Bianca Raby will arrive at the shooting location and get our equipment (condenser mic, clothes, computer, lighting tools, etc.) ready to use. It is from this point where we will now prepare and set the scene for shooting, for example by scattering clothes around, setting up the pill bottles, getting pamphlets, newspapers and magazines from the lobby, etc. so that the place looks lived in.

Saturday, 3/2/19, 6:00 PM

At this point, we will begin shooting, and also possibly recording sound effects. We will have all of our ideas in place by this point and if they are changed, it will be as we go. We are aiming to finish by about 9:00 but will probably be filming for much longer. I will try to add our shots into the rough cut as we go to avoid later complication.

Sunday, 3/3/19, 1:00 PM

We have all left the hotel by this point the night before, but at this time the room is now checked out and I should have at least half of the rough cut done, with all the clips (if not most) all inserted and the sound effects we recorded thrown in at their due locations. In a few hours our rough cut should be entirely finished.

<EDIT: SUNDAY, 3/3/19, 11:30 PM>

 Done. I have finished editing the rough cut together and I can firmly say that we deviated quite a bit from our plans last night. We did not finish shooting until about 11:30 PM, 2 hours after we planned. This was due to the fact that we took longer than expected to start filming, which we started about 30 minutes late, and because the ACTUAL place surprised us and did not look as the pictures suggested, and unfortunately the actual place did not work too well for what we were planning. We made it work though and managed to finish shooting after about 5 hours, and I have now finished putting in all of the clips and sound effects we recorded. In the screenshot, there are all of the clips, the light humming sound effect, traffic sounds and ambient sound which all were found online due to the lack of recorded sound, however, for our final cut, there will be plenty recorded sound to incorporate. This rough cut is ROUGH but it is a good outline to go off of for our final project, as it not only inspires different ideas due to its surprising outcome, but we can also learn from mistakes and now we also know what things that we planned ACTUALLY look like so now we can change our mind or keep things accordingly.

Lucid Elucidations Script

This is the finished script we so far have for our film, written by group member Pierce Thomas. Things are of course subject to change if something else comes up or we have a slight change of ideas, but this is a very close outline of what our film is going to be and how everything will pan out. Enjoy!


FADE IN:

EXT. MOTEL – EVENING

A two-story, brick motel stands against an urban landscape, the setting sun gleaming from behind the building

INT. MOTEL ROOM 1 – EVENING

We see the windows, the faint light of the fading sun peeking in. It is almost night. The television is on, the sound of a static-filled news report droning on in the background.

CUT TO:

Corners of the plain, beige room. The air conditioner, magazines spread across a table. The droning of the news station grows quieter. In its place, the sound of a water droplet falling against a body of water emerges.

A push in towards the face of a young adult who is sleeping in a bed in the middle of the bedroom. He is LIONEL. The dripping grows to a crescendo, stopping abruptly with an echo as we see Lionel open his eyes.  He gazes around the room for a brief moment before sitting up in bed. He is dressed in his pajamas.

Lionel reaches over to the nightstand to his right, grasping for the remote. Instead, he grabs a bright red cloth. Slightly confused, he glimpses downward at the cloth before shifting it to his other hand, reaching again for the remote. He glances at the remote briefly, searching for the power button, before shutting the television off. The room is silent, except for a faint dripping.

Lionel swings his feet off of the bed, placing his bare feet onto the deep blue carpet. A mid shot of Lionel. We see a blurry image of a figure dressed in a red gown appear behind him on the opposite side of the bed, their face and figure obscured by his. He swivels his head quickly, only to see nothing there.

Unmoved, Lionel stands up and walks forward, his attention recaptured by the dripping.

INT. MOTEL ROOM 2 - NIGHT

Lionel opens the door to his room, following the sound. He finds himself in a separate room, as plain and beige as the first. This room is filled with furniture: a table, a couch, a sink. This sink is not dripping.

Lionel walks further into the room, still clutching the cloth.

INT. MOTEL BATHROOM – CONTINUOUS

A wide shot. We see Lionel walk and stop in the frame of the bathroom door.  In the foreground, a faucet that is out of focus. Lionel turns his head towards the faucet. The focus shifts. The dripping faucet is now in focus. Lionel walks into bathroom, looming over the bathroom sink. We are looking up at him. He twists the handle, stopping the drip.

CUT TO:

We are now above Lionel, looking into the sink with him. The sink is full of water. A phone is submerged in it. Lionel looks harder, slightly confused. The phone begins to ring, garbled and distorted beneath the water. Only slightly surprised, Lionel lifts the phone out of the water and shakes it slightly.

He looks to his left, towards the innards of the bathroom. All seems normal. The towels and rags are neatly placed. The bathtub is empty.

Lionel picks up the phone. A young man’s voice says over the line:

VOICE

(over phone)

Do you remember… anything?

The voice pauses at odd intervals and is dull and hushed. His voice is distorted and full of static. Lionel stares blankly. He does not reply.

There is an uncomfortable pause. Silence, except for the unsecure phone line, which is crackling slightly.

VOICE

(over phone)

It is of utmost importance… that you remember… what happened.

There is a slight pause.

VOICE

(over phone)

Do not fear. I will help you… remember. I will heal you.

The dripping sound begins once again. We see Lionel from the right. He turns to the left, looking into the bathroom once again. A faucet is dripping slowly into the bathtub. It is full of water.

The voice continues.

VOICE

(over phone)

Step in.

The call ends abruptly. The disconnect tone sounds loudly in Lionel’s ear. He releases the phone, the handset dropping rapidly to the floor.

CUT TO:

We see the phone hanging in the foreground, dripping water. Lionel is walking towards the bathtub. He is mesmerized by the water.

Lionel walks slowly into the bathroom, the disconnect tone fading. His feet stop just before the tub and he peers down into the tub of water. He slowly lifts his right foot and steps in.

CUT TO:

We see Lionel from outside the door of the bathroom as he puts his feet into the bathtub and sits down in the water. Some water spills out of the side of the tub and splashes onto the floor.

Lionel slowly lowers himself into the water, short, small, bodiless whispers rising in volume in the background. These seem to encourage his actions, all merging together into an overwhelming mass of sound. He is still clutching the red cloth.

He finally lowers his head into the water, continuing to hold the red cloth as he submerges himself completely. The whispers grow to a crescendo, now sounding more like soft yelling. A close-up of his hand holding the cloth is seen, being the last part of his body to enter the tub.

Silence. The sound of bubbles.

TITLE CARD:

“Lucid Elucidations”

Our Requested Budget: $5,000,000 USD

  In order to make the best film possible, proper funding is needed in order to be able to afford all the necessary supplies and obtain all necessary resources for filmmaking. The budget you need should be determined by the script, actors, directors, and equipment. Taking all of these into consideration and scoping out what your budget should amount to, it is also important to remember what your chosen production company usually provides. From past research (see blog post 'Choosing a Production Company'), we know that our production company, Blumhouse Productions, only really provides lower budgets as they prefer to be cautious, in case a film they finance doesn't do too well, they at least have not spent a monstrous amount of money on the film and won't lose as much money. After taking all of these things into consideration, we have decided that our requested budget for our film is approximately $5,000,000 USD. This will cover for the cost of paying our actors, director, production designer, editor, cinematographer, and all of the other roles involved in the making of this film, and will also cover the cost of location scouting and equipment such as microphones, lights, cameras, costuming, and props.

Sources

https://www.indiewire.com/2015/10/how-to-determine-the-right-budget-level-for-your-film-56083/

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-cost1.htm

Branding Our Film

 We know what a basic brand is, for example, McDonald's, Nike, Microsoft, etc. It is defined mainly as "a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer". As we see with these companies, they all sell lines of products, for example, McDonalds has the Big Mac and Microsoft has Windows. Each of the companies listed also have very recognizable logos and color schemes that they use to distinguish themselves from other brands. For example, lets look close into the logo for Puma and how it represents their products.

 As we can see, a black and white color scheme is employed to have certain psychological effects on the viewer. White is used to invoke passion and creativity, as it is often associated in our minds with a blank canvas, making us feel free and innovative. Black is very powerful and sends across a message of power and strength. The combination of these two factors achieves the inspirational athletic feel that is trying to be conveyed. The use of the Puma leaping is used for two things: 1) to emphasize speed and power, which fits the intended athletic message and 2) separates itself from other brands with different logos.

 Based off of this we know that brands such as the ones listed have a definitive name for a product that it sells, making it a brand. However, what would make a movie a brand? Well, another definition for a brand is also "a public image, reputation, or identity conceived of as something to be marketed or promoted", which clearly shows that something does not require a definitive class of goods with a name to be considered a brand, but anything with an image, reputation or identifying factor that is used to market and advertise can also be considered a brand. So this leaves the question, what "identifying factor(s)" can we employ to help promote our film?

 The term "identifying factor" can be used very broadly. We do not need a specific and original image to promote our film, as that would not only be very difficult to do but also it might not gain the attention from our intended audience that we are looking for. So firstly, what are some key factors of our film? Water and eyes are very important parts of our film, as water is going to play a part in the film as the death of a protagonist's loved one was caused by drowning and the sound and image of water constantly gives him memories and flashbacks. Eyes are used to show the window into his mind, where the truth is held, and he has to search for it. These two things are very central and symbolic to the film, so it is best to advertise those things specifically to give an accurate representation of what the film is about and reach our intended target audience.

 Above is a film poster that I made for our film, incorporating the imagery of the water, the eyes and a psychedelic color scheme, which all fit the effect of a psychological thriller, and all as explained above have relevance to the story. The eyes are positioned in such a way as to show a normal face when looking right side up, but a demented looking one when turned upside down, to represent the sinister truth that the protagonist has to discover. The color scheme invokes abstract thoughts and is associated with dreams and hallucinations, which is a very large part in this film, as the protagonist will see the truth through his own hallucinations and visions. The water is in the background as it is the main thing that invokes the visions of the eye of the protagonist, and is the main outlet into the protagonist's mind we see in the film. The title "Lucid Elucidations" foreshadows this, as we can assume it is something to do with hallucinations or dreams, and the meaning of elucidations is "explanations", so it almost says that the truth is within his visions.

 Advertising the film based on these factors will help our intended audience be intrigued by the imagery and slight deviation in color scheme and imagery as compared to typical thriller/horror films, and will give a good idea into exactly what sort of film it is, a psychological thriller.

Sources
https://www.fatrabbitcreative.com/blog/psychology-of-black-and-white-and-what-they-mean-for-your-business

umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/E/eyes.html

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

Film Pitch Transcript

Lucid Elucidations Film Pitch

What is our plotline?

"OUR FILM, LUCID ELUCIDATIONS, IS A MYSTERY/PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FILM THAT FOCUSES ON ONE MAN WHOSE PAST IS UNCLEAR AND HIS SURROUNDINGS EVEN MORE SO. HE DOESN'T REMEMBER WHO HE IS, LET ALONE WHAT HE DID. HE CAN'T REMEMBER, BUT HE NEEDS TO – AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT THE VOICES KEEP TELLING HIM. HE'S A PRISONER OF HIS OWN MIND AND THE FANTASIES AND ILLUSIONS IT WEAVES, CAUSED BY HEAD TRAUMA, INJURIES THAT LANDED HIM NOT ONLY IN THE HOSPITAL, BUT ALSO A MENTAL FACILITY. IN A WORLD WHERE THE LINE BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY IS INDISTINGUISHABLE, THIS FILM EXPLORES THIS MAN TRAVERSING THROUGH HIS MEMORIES TO FIGURE OUT THE TRUTH. NOT ONLY WHAT HE SUPPOSEDLY DID, BUT ALSO WHAT HIS MIND IS TRYING TO SHOW HIM."

What is our chosen production company?

"WE’VE CHOSEN BLUMHOUSE STUDIOS AS OUR PRODUCTION COMPANY GIVEN ITS SPECIALTY AND EXPERIENCE PRODUCING QUALITY HORROR FILMS ON A GENERALLY LOW BUDGET. BLUMHOUSE HAS PRODUCED MANY SUCCESSFUL HORROR FILMS SUCH AS GET OUT (2016), THE VISIT (2015) AND HAPPY DEATH DAY (2017). ALL OF THESE FILMS ARE SIMILAR TO OURS THEMATICALLY IN THE SENSE THAT THEY APPEAL TO THE VIEWERS SENSE OF  UNEASINESS AND CONTAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS THAT PERTURB THE AUDIENCE."

What is our requested budget?

"FOR OUR FILM "LUCID ELUCIDATIONS", WE WILL HAVE A LOW BUDGET OF APPROXIMATELY $5,000,000. WE DECIDED ON THIS NUMBER AFTER RESEARCHING SIMILAR  THRILLER FILMS PRODUCED UNDER BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, SUCH AS GET OUT  AND THE VISIT , WHOSE BUDGETS WERE APPROXIMATELY $5,000,000 EACH,  AND TRUTH OR DARE, WHOSE BUDGET WAS $3,500,000. WITHIN THIS BUDGET, WE WILL NOT BE SPENDING IT TOWARDS BUYING THE RIGHTS FOR THE SCRIPT AS WE WILL BE WRITING OUR OWN. HOWEVER, WE WILL HAVE TO SPLIT OUR BUDGET AMONGST OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS SALARIES FOR THE CAST AND CREW, CAMERA EQUIPMENT, COSTUMING, MAKEUP, PROPS, SET CONSTRUCTION, AND ANY POSSIBLE TRAVEL FEES SUCH AS HOTEL RENTALS, GAS, ETC, TO NAME A FEW"

What is our chosen distribution company?

"AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO WHICH DISTRIBUTION COMPANY WOULD BE BEST FOR OUR FILM, 'LUCID ELUCIDATIONS', WE HAVE A FEW POSSIBLE OPTIONS FOR WHAT WE WILL CHOOSE. WE FIRSTLY WILL PREMIERE OUR FILM AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, WHERE THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THE MOVIE TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND CREDENTIALS, SUCH AS AWARDS OR PRAISE FROM CRITICS. OUR CHOSEN PRODUCTION COMPANY, BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS, HAS A 10 YEAR "FIRST LOOK" DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL PICTURES, ALLOWING UNIVERSAL TO GET THE FIRST GLANCE AT ANY NEW WORK FROM BLUMHOUSE PRODUCTIONS AND DECIDE RATHER OR NOT THEY WILL APPROVE OF THE FILM OR NOT"

(continued)

"IN THE CASE UNIVERSAL PICTURES DOES NOT APPROVE OF OUR FILM, WE CHOOSE A24 FILMS AS OUR SELECTED DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, AS THEY HAVE PRODUCED FILMS THAT FIT INTO A SIMILAR GENRE AS OUR FILM, SUCH AS 'THE WITCH' (2015) AND 'HEREDITARY' (2018), WHICH ALSO HAVE SIMILAR BUDGETS TO OUR FILM, AS 'THE WITCH' HAD A BUDGET OF $4 MILLION USD AND 'HEREDITARY' HAD A BUDGET OF $9 MILLION USD. DUE TO THE FACT THEY HAVE MADE LOWER BUDGET FILMS SIMILAR TO OUR GENRE, WHICH WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL ('HEREDITARY' GROSSED $44 MILLION USD WITH A $9M BUDGET), WE FEEL AS IF THEY WOULD BE OUR NEXT BEST CHOICE OF DISTRIBUTION COMPANY."

Bibliography

- HTTPS://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2018/10/21/BUSINESS/MEDIA/BLUMHOUSE-PRODUCTIONS-HORROR-TV.HTML ​

- HTTPS://ENTERTAINMENT.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM/MOVIE-COST1.HTM

Distribution

 There are many options for how our film can be distributed, for example, different distribution companies such as Warner Brothers, A24, Universal, 20th Century Fox, etc. all have different styles of films, for example, some may distribute higher budget movies while some distribute lower budget movies, some may specialize more in horror while others specialize more in comedy, etc. For this reason, finding the best option is important to make sure that the film gets the audience that is intended. For our film, we have first decided to premiere our film at the Sundance film festival, where it has a chance to gain praise from critics, awards, recognition from other parts of the world or other filmmakers, etc which could improve our chances of getting other distribution companies to distribute our film. However, the production company we have chosen, Blumhouse Productions, has a 10 year 'first look' deal with Universal Pictures, stating that for every film that Blumhouse produces, Universal will get the first look and opportunity to be the distribution company. In the case that Universal doesn't give approval to the film, our next choice would be A24 Studios, which is both a production company and a distribution company, which has distributed movies similar in budget and genre to what we are going for. For example, films such as 'The Witch' (2015) and 'Hereditary' (2018), which are both in the same general area of the genre of our film, as (as discussed before), horror and thriller are two very similar genres that overlap a lot. These films had a very similar budget to what we are requesting ($5M USD), as 'Hereditary' had a budget of $9 Million USD and 'The Witch' had a budget of $4 Million USD. These films were both successful too, with 'Hereditary' making a gross income of 44 Million USD compared to their 9 Million USD budget. For this reason, we feel they are very liable and suit our movie best.













Sources
- https://www.screendaily.com/comment/whats-the-purpose-of-film-festivals-in-the-21st-century/5108598.article
- https://www.thewrap.com/blumhouse-prods-signs-10-year-production-deal-with-universal-pictures/

Choosing a Production Company

 In making a movie, the production company is a driving force in the production stage of the film as it provides the basis of the film, for example, choosing which actors and directors are hired, setting the budget, providing funds, etc. When choosing a production company it is important to choose one that specializes in your genre of film and works within your range of financing so that your film's needs can be met.  It is important when choosing a production company to research what films they have made before to see where they specialize and how good the movies they have made turned out, and also to make sure it fits the style of film you want to make. For our film we have chosen Blumhouse Productions as our production company, because they specialize in making creepier films and also do lower budget films as well. They have also done some thriller films that I have analyzed in other posts, such as Get Out (2017) and Split (2016).

Films Produced by Blumhouse Productions

As you can see, Blumhouse Productions is very geared towards making any movies with a creepy feel, anywhere within the horror/thriller genre primarily. Based on this, they would be the best to choose due to their expertise in the genre. They also don't make insanely high budget movies. For example, Insidious: The Last Key (2018) had a total budget of 10 million USD, which is considered to be a fairly low budget film. However, the film grossed $67,745,330 total. They made a fairly large profit as they grossed almost 7 times the total budget, obviously showing it was a film that did very well. This fits well with our film idea, as

we plan on making a lower budget thriller film, which would be made easier with a production company specializing in that area. For example, a very good thriller film produced by Blumhouse Productions, Get Out (2017) had . total budget of 4.5 Million USD, a very low budget for a film of its standard, but it grossed  $252,434,250 worldwide, an absolutely astronomical amount compared to the total budget. For this reason, we feel Blumhouse Productions is best suitable to make our film.

Who is Going to See Our Film?

  In order for a film to be successful, it must be able to reach a definitive audience and be well received by that audience. So this raises the question, who exactly should be our targeted audience when making a thriller movie? I decided to research some of the intended audiences of thriller films similar to what we are trying to make, to look for commonalities in the way they market and advertise their film so that their intended audience wants to watch it, and how the execution of the film allowed that audience to enjoy the movie.

 The Machinist (2004) is a psychological thriller about a factory worker suffering from Insomnia, who's condition turned so severe that he lost a lot of weight and it affected his mental health. He then accidentally causes an accident on the job which severely injured another worker, further destroying his mental health. As the paranoia gets worse and worse, he blames it all on a mysterious figure, known as Ivan. A very interesting idea for a psychological thriller, but it was important to make sure it got to it's intended audience and well received by them. So how was it done?

 Firstly, it is important to look at who is in the making of the movie, as certain production companies, actors, directors, etc. usually specialize in a certain genre, so when they are featured in a film of that genre, people who enjoy to watch that genre of film will be drawn in to watch it because they're expecting a quality movie. The Machinist was made by Castelao Productions, a smaller production company but one that makes a lot of horror/thriller films such as the REC series,  and Fragile (2005). The director of this film is Brad Anderson, who specializes in horror and thriller films, which would make the intended audience want to see the film, as the director has expertise in the genre, leading everyone to expect a better film. The star of the film is Christian Bale, an actor known for his intense acting and extreme body transformations for his roles, for example, for this film he had to lose over 60 pounds to fit the role of someone mentally unstable and drastically losing weight. This alone is enough to interest viewers of the intended audience.

  Another part of reaching your intended audience is making sure the film is advertised to represent what it is as well as possible. The trailer for The Machinist gave some context into what the film was about while also using thriller conventions discussed in the post titled "Diving Deeper into the Thriller Genre" to make the mood and feel of the movie apparent to potential viewers, for example the suspenseful music, low-key lighting, etc. so those who liked movies like that would be intrigued and drawn into watching it. The way the movie cover was made also has a similar effect that was discussed in the last post about titling, as it also does well to show the overall mood and nature of the film, and would appeal to those looking for a thriller/horror.

 The reason I looked at The Machinist is because it is a psychological thriller similar to something we would like to do, as it is around a protagonist having visions of some sort and is in a scrambled mental state. I wasn't entirely sure of how we could show that through a simple title sequence, but through watching this I've noticed that setting the mood is the most important thing, while also doing something to suggest the main antagonist is the mind of the protagonist, which can be shown through the characters actions or how others interact with them, or by showing confusing imagery. For example in the trailer for The Machinist there is a lot of flashing transitions and sound bridges, slightly confusing the viewer, and there are insert shots of sketches and ambiguous looking writing on a sticky note, which is a common thing seen in psychologically based films. Confusing imagery and the overall dark feeling of the film is something I have been planning on doing for our title sequence.

The Machinist (2004) Trailer

Sources
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361862/plotsummary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0fuHY4U1UA

Looking More Into Representation

 Just to be more specific in exactly how representation is employed in thriller films, I decided to look at the opening scene from A Quiet Place (2018) and how certain elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, etc. is employed to create representation in a thriller film. What I found was mostly gender representation, as seems to be a common trend with many thriller films, as there is usually a trend with who the victims, heroes, leaders, etc. are.

A Quiet Place - Opening Scene (Beau Abbott Dies) [HD]

    The opening scene of A Quiet Place (2018) represents women as followers and shows them as being emotional and thinking with their feelings and not their brain, while also portraying men as leaders and showing them to not be as emotional through the use of cinematography, editing, and mise en scene. When they leave the building, blocking is employed to show that he is in the front and all of the women are following him, making him seem like the powerful one and the 'leader' of the group. Props are also used as he is shown carrying a big backpack and he also is carrying the kid, making him look strong and is further showing his leadership and strength compared to everyone else in the group. Long shots, tracking shots, wide shots, and various group shots are used to show that he is in the front and everybody is following his lead and going where he decides to go. When the littlest kid, Beau, stops before the bridge and the monster starts chasing after the kid, a close up is shown of the mother, the father, and the daughter is shown to show all of their reactions. The father sets down the child he is carrying and begins to run after Beau to save him, all the while looking focused and urgent. Meanwhile, the mother and daughter or shown to be panicking and scared and just stand there doing nothing. This use of camera movement showing the mother and daughter standing still and the father running shows he is acting on logic instead of emotion, while the others aren't. The editing also plays a part in this as a shot-reverse-shot keeps being shown between the father and the others, showing the contrast in their emotions and actions.

How to make a Thriller Title

One of the most important advertising tools for a film is the title, after all it is literally the name of the film. While you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, many still do, including myself if I'm being honest, so it is important to make sure that your title is something that interests your intended audience, grabs their attention, and makes them want to watch the movie while also not revealing too much, if anything, about the plot. Because of this I have decided to research how many popular thriller films that did well titled their movies, for instance, the style, font, color, meaning, etc. to see what specific elements of titling help to push a film to success. In this post I will be looking at the titles of Bird Box (2018), Get Out (2017),  and A Quiet Place (2018), three modern thriller films that have done exceptionally well since release.

Bird Box (2018)

  The first title I am going to look at is the title for Bird Box. The font looks very rigid and serious, conveying that it isn't a feel-good movie, but not necessarily a horror movie, as the text is not in a scary looking font. The title ends up being relevant to the movie as it is referring to the birds that alert them when danger is near, but the audience doesn't know that until watching the movie, and then after watching it makes sense to them. The color of the text is white, which doesn't seem to say much apart from the fact that it being such a basic color instead of anything fancy shows seriousness, however that is something minor to pick up on, and the main purpose of it seems to be to provide contrast with the dark background.

Get Out (2017)

    The next title I'm going to analyze is the title for Get Out, which has a very similar style of text as Bird Box, in the sense that it is plain white, and a very rigid and serious looking font again. This is to show the seriousness of the film, and the positioning of the letters underneath eachother makes us look elsewhere to see the title instead of reading in just a straight line, which could imply the fact that this movie is not a simple story and has many twists and turns (yes, this is a stretch but the positioning was something I noticed was done differently). Lastly, the relevance of this title to the film implies what the general idea of this movie is, which is that the character is trapped somewhere dangerous and needs to escape. This doesn't reveal anything specific to the story itself but it makes it easier for the viewers to know what kind of film they are going to see.

A Quiet Place (2018) 

  The last title I'm going to look at, A Quiet Place, seems a little bit different than the other two. To spot a clear difference, the word 'Quiet' is red, while 'A' and 'Place'  are white. This draws attention and emphasis on the word 'Quiet' which ties into the relevancy of the title to the film, as the whole premise of the story is that they have to stay quiet or else monsters will be attracted to them. Again, this gives a general idea to the audience that there is some reason that the setting of the story is a place that is quiet (obviously), but they won't understand why it is quiet until after watching, which seems to be a common trend of the titles of thriller movies. Also, the font again looks sharp and serious, another common thriller convention as they want to show the seriousness of the film. The positioning of the title is also important as it is put on the bottom to be moved out of the way of the picture of the woman covering her mouth, which further conveys the meaning of the story and shows that the reason for being quiet is probably extremely serious, as her scared look and tears suggest.

 Overall, there are a few common conventions that I have noticed while looking at thriller titles. For one, the font is always very serious and rigid, not being rounded or fun looking in the slightest, which is something they avoid because the movies are not feel good in nature and they do not want to mislead the audience. Font colors are also simple, usually being white, red or black to highlight the serious and creepy nature to the movie, and the relevance of the titles to the film is always loose, as it often very generally describes the premise or something of importance in the story, but the audience won't know exactly what it means until watching. This is helpful to me as a few days ago I decided to make a possible cover for our movie, Lucid Elucidations (shown below), and looking back at it the titling conventions are slightly off.

In making the title, the font I chose looks very wavy and rounded, with a pattern of purple and green for the lettering, which may look a bit more lighthearted than our film may be. However, there are no ideas set in stone yet, but if our title sequence is something involving a dream sequence, the title could potentially convey that. I am going to make a new one once our title sequence is fully completed, and I have taken note of titling conventions of thriller films and may make changes if necessary, for example, if we choose to follow conventions instead of challenging them, or if it has a correlation to the theme of the story.

  

What is my Individual Role?

   For our film, Lucid Elucidations, we have decided to split four specific roles amongst the four of us in order to put all of our strengths and creative abilities to use to produce the best film possible. These four roles are the director, editor, cinematographer, and production designer. This is a list of who will be filling these roles:

Director: Pierce Thomas
Editor: Ben Isaacs (me)
Cinematographer: Katelyn Wagner
Production Designer: Bianca Raby

  These are four very crucial roles for creating the best feel for the movie and creating the intended mood and meaning we are trying to create. In this post, I am going to be going over why I chose to be the editor for the film and what jobs I will have in contributing to the filmmaking process.

  So firstly, what does the editor do? Besides simply putting the clips together of course, there is an extensive amount of things that editors are responsible for. Among these, is their collaboration with cinematographers, sound editors, and directors to get a good understanding of the intended vision of the film, to best bring all the elements together and tell a story. The editor must also watch through hours of extensive footage and be able to select the scenes with the best dramatic and entertainment value, and be able to make rough cuts and edits to create the intended story. The editor must also make revisions to the film at the request of the director and producers, and then releasing it to the film house for production once all is finished.

  I felt that this role would suit me well as I have always enjoyed editing videos and images, am familiar with the technology, have good resources and am able to turn a vision into an actual story through the power of editing. For our film, I have decided to use the program Sony Vegas Pro 13 to edit on (as seen below), as there are many capabilities it has that are not offered in other programs, which I will go over.

  Firstly, Sony Vegas Pro 13 has many, many different effects, transitions and 'media generators' (text, solid color screens, etc) that are not offered by other softwares. This is due to a software attachment named Sapphire which adds a multitude of high quality effects which can be used in our film.

  As seen in this screenshot, SVP allows for multiple audio and video tracks to be created and merged together, and also allows for them to be unlinked and moved to different locations. You are also able to zoom in on specific clips via the scroll bar on the bottom, allowing you to use the audio waves and needle to pinpoint where video and audio could be in sync. Lastly, one of the main most important tools that SVP offers is keyframing (as seen below). Keyframing allows you to select a certain clip and be able to choose a point in the clip where the camera pans in, moves right/left, up/down, zooms in/out, etc. This helps to create certain movement effects in the film, or even if there is a mistake and say the camera is accidentally captured on the side of the frame, then you are able to zoom it in slightly to fix this.

  Now that I have covered the responsibility of the editor and why I have chosen to be the editor, and also explaining the key features of the program I will be editing with, I will now explain how I am going to bring everything together to make the best film possible.

  Throughout the filmmaking process, I will constantly be closely collaborating with the director, cinematographer and production designer to be on top of the overall vision of the film and how it is supposed to look. Among this I will offer ideas of my own that I feel editing could make work, and suggestions on how a certain shot should look, how it should be paced, etc. After the filming is done I will review all of the footage and decide which specific clips scenes would be the best to create the intended feeling and meaning of the film. In doing this I will also check up with my other group members to ensure that the film still looks as originally envisioned and intended. After then editing the clips in the proper order and combining the sound with the visuals to create a story telling film, I will present this to my group to discuss any changes that shall be made and make the changes accordingly. After a final cut is agreed upon, I am responsible for sending the finished product back to the film house so it can then be produced.

Sources

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/film-editor2.htm
http://www.media-match.com/usa/media/jobtypes/editor-jobs-402709.php

Diving Deeper Into the Thriller Genre

 After researching the similarities and differences between horror and thriller conventions and choosing to go in the direction of a thriller, I decided to look further into the thriller genre and look at the conventions used in them to create a suspenseful atmosphere. Since we intend to do more of a psychological thriller, I decided to look at a very popular film that fits into this category,  Split (2016), a psychological thriller about three girls who have been kidnapped by a man with 23 distinct personalities, and the whole film is them trying to escape. I am going to be looking at the mise en scene, sound, editing and cinematography of the scene and what they convey, and look for how they tie into the overall conventions and purpose of a typical thriller movie.

 One thing I noted from the text being shown on the opening credits is something minor but still worthy of recognizing, the transitioning of the text. The text multiplies and then comes back together as it transitions, almost looking like a glitch. This can confuse the viewer and builds suspense as it is jarring and confusing and pairing it with the strange audio track that accompanies the entire title sequence, it creates a feeling of urgency.

 Immediately when the first scene started, I realized that the mise en scene was worth taking note of. There is dim, lowkey lighting which immediately makes it clear that this is not a place where you would want to be and it strikes fear into the audience. The setting looks to be some kind of basement or facility as we see industrial looking pipes on the ceiling and abnormal wall lights with a long hallway. The whole mood was set in this scene, as the audience has now been presented with the creepiness of the location and it has become apparent that this place could be dangerous.

The mise en scene and sound of this scene already suggested the dark nature of this scene, but the cinematography used in these two scenes confirms that what is going on is certainly something sinister. The first close up shows her with her eyes closed in a daze, most likely unaware of whatever is going on. Then in between it flashes to more credits, and then cuts back to the second scene, where she has her eyes open wide, looking confused and shocked, as she is realizing she is not familiar with the location she is in and she does not know why she is being rolled down this mysterious hallway. Another thing I noticed was the awkward angle this close up was shown at, as it is looking up onto her face instead of directly on it, making the audience feel awkward and uncomfortable, similar to how she is feeling.

This last scene keeps flashing repeatedly in between credits, and it is quite interesting. It is a long shot of the girl laying down with the man standing over her positioning her onto the bed, however, it is blurry and appears to be shown through a small crevice. This confuses the audience and builds intensity, as the audience can not tell what is going on, but are wondering why he is doing what he is doing, and it makes it feel like they are hiding from the man as the camera is shown from such a discrete place. This directly correlates with the purpose of a thriller movie as discussed in the last post, as it relies heavily on mystery and leaving the audience trying to figure out what is going on.

 Overall, the use of sound, mise en scene, editing and cinematography in this title sequence do a good job accomplishing the intended purpose of a thriller movie. The scenes appear more and more ominous and strange as the title sequence progresses, and the faced rhythm of the editing paired with the jarring soundtrack build suspense and confusion in those watching, and in the end the audience is left wondering what is happening to this girl and what the man is doing, worried that it is something sinister.

Split (2016) Title Sequence

How is Representation Implemented into the Thriller Genre?

  Like every genre, thriller has certain conventions as far as how gender, race, and class are represented in their films. After looking at some of the common conventions of how the intense and mysterious feel is created and how the story is left open for the viewer to figure out, I decided to also research how these groups are represented in thriller movies. In this post, I will be breaking down how each group is represented commonly in the thriller genre by researching various sources to find commonalities of genre conventions.

Gender

• Men are almost always portrayed as violent and/or serial killers, while women are almost always portrayed as the victims.
• Men are also usually the 'hero' of the film and are trying saving the woman.
• Men are usually shown as strong and muscular while women are shown to be thin and good looking.
• Males portrayed as powerful, while women are portrayed as powerless.

Race

• The hero is usually white, while other ethnicities are shown as rather victims or antagonists.
• Asians are skilled fighters.
• Characters from the Caribbean are often gangsters or criminals.
• American men are often the 'hero' of the movie, American females are used as sex symbols

Class

• The 'hero' of the film is usually of the upper class.
• People of lower class are usually intellectuals but don't have any common sense.
• Higher class people are usually shown to have busy and stressful lives.
• Higher class people are more powerful and lower class people are powerless.

 Overall, thriller has very similar conventions to many other genres in the way they portray who has power and who doesn't. For example, the characters who have power are higher class, usually white, and are almost always men. The common victims are women as we see in other movie genres, and their heroes are usually always men. However, through researching some other thriller movies, I have found that many modern thriller movies challenge some of these conventions, and it is opening up the thriller genre to many more possible stories. For example, in Get Out (2017), the main victim is a black male, being tricked by his white girlfriend into meeting her family, who plans on extracting his brain and selling it to a white buyer who wants his traits. This is interesting in the sense that not only is the victim a male, but a female was also one of the main antagonists, although it is normally the other way around. On top of this, the white family were actually the antagonists in this film, while the black man, overpowered by the whole family, was the protagonist. Lastly, the hero of this film was another black man, who was a friend of the protagonist, who found out where he was and the situation he was in and lead the cops to him. These are major challenges to common conventions as the hero, antagonists and protagonist are literally the opposite of conventions. However, some conventions such as white people being of a higher class, and the men in this movie are all strong and ready to fight, which the protagonist has to stand in the face of in order to escape.

Sources
https://www.slideshare.net/ccapricec/represnetations-and-sterotypes-in-the-thriller-genres
http://www.criminalelement.com/who-reads-what-thrillers-mysteries-gender-lines-linda-rodriguez/

Get Out (2017) Trailer

Why We Changed Our Mind

 After writing the last post and finally deciding on horror, one of my group members brought to my attention the similarities to horror that the thriller genre had. In his blog, he had listed some of the key similarities and differences between the two genres, which sparked indecision in the rest of the group. After conducting further research into the thriller and horror genres and what differentiates the two of them, my group and I all reached the consensus that thriller would not only be an easier genre to go through with, but it also leaves us more open to doing a variety of things, as the main point of a thriller is to mainly build suspense rather than terrify the viewer. In this post, I'm going to analyze some of the key differences between the horror genre and thriller genre, and evaluate which ones swayed my decision.

Horror

• Employs a "fight vs flight" dynamic, which in the beginning a character is faced with an issue in the first half of the film and tries to flee, but are forced to confront the issue directly in the second half.
• The characters make active decisions that lead them to direct confrontation with the antagonist.
• Intends primarily on scaring the viewer rather than leaving them tense.
• Exposition is usually given to the characters and questions are quickly answered and explained to the audience.
• Is usually more unrealistic and supernatural rather than realistic and plausible.

Thriller

• Characters are drawn towards the antagonist against their will rather than making active decisions to get closer to them.
• The protagonist is usually unsuspecting and living normally until the antagonist causes problems.
• Thrillers rely more on mystery rather than revealing everything to the audience, so the audience is also actively trying to figure out what is going on, thus building more suspense.
• Characters do not try to face the issue and try to get away from it.
• Is usually more realistic in the issue and in the way the characters react to the conflict caused by the antagonist.

Similarities

• Both share the "fight vs flight" dynamic. (However, in horror, the protagonist usually chooses to fight while in a thriller the protagonist chooses to try avoiding conflict.)
• A horror movie can still thrill the audience and a thriller can still horrify the audience.
• Both can contain similar plots, however, they are shown differently.
• Both can have mysterious elements to them, although horror tends to reveal the exposition more than thriller does.

What swayed my decision?

   After doing research on how the two genres are different, it became apparent to me that thriller is much more simple for a few reasons. For one, the issue at hand does not have to be identified, as in horror the exposition is usually given to the audience while in thriller it is not, making it much easier to have the conflict facing the character being anything we choose, without having to identify what exactly it is. Given it is a title sequence, it probably wouldn't be revealed anyway, however having more of a mystery is better in general as far as building tension. Another thing that made me want to do a thriller rather than horror is considering that we need to act whatever we chose to put in the movie out which would be difficult, as none of us are professional actors, and in horror there is more direct confrontation and scary things actually happening. This would be hard to pull off as our acting may not be good enough to scare the audience and may even be cheesy, however with thriller, a lot can be done through editing. The use of sound, speed and which shots are shown is enough to build suspense alone, and nothing "scary" needs to happen or be done. Going off on this however, I do want our title sequence to be creepy, but the intent is to build tension for the audience, not to terrify them.

Source

http://www.bang2write.com/2013/11/whats-the-difference-between-horror-thriller-part-2.html
http://pediaa.com/difference-between-horror-and-thriller/