Titling: Following or Challenging Conventions?

Titling is a very important part of making the best title sequence possible, as it creates the mood of the film and if it doesn't reflect the film's feel or meaning then it will not work right. Below are some notable thriller titles and the fonts they use in their title sequence.

 As you can see, the title card for 'Get Out' (2017) is very serious looking and feels intense to look at, building suspense, and the title cards for 'A Quiet Place' (2018) and 'IT' (2017) are scary looking fonts that instill fear in the viewer. Ours turned out a bit different. The font I used in the beginning of the title sequence was VCR OSD Mono, which is the font that VHS time stamps are in. The reason I used this font was because it challenges conventions, leaving the audience unsure of what to suspect, but it is still unsettling as it is vintage and ominous. It also ties in with the technological aspect of the film, as the typed word document is shown at the end when Lionel drops the laptop.

For the ending title card, I decided to use the DVORAK font, which follows conventions a lot more, as it is scratchy and much more menacing than VCR OSD Mono. This is shown after Lionel is attacked, which is important because now the audience knows that this is a scary/intense film and the font now reflects how they are feeling. If this font was used at the beginning, it would have raised the audience's suspicion from the start that it was going to be scary, so using this only at the end was effective in my opinion.

 I decided to keep the blinking cursor at the end of the text in the title card as well so it would stay similar to the way the text was shown the whole way through. On top of this I also included the green and magenta edges to the text, which was to make it look more digital camera-like if that makes sense. This was not much for a particular reason but I decided it was a nice touch to make it look a bit more intense.

What Sounds am I Adding and How?

  In our title sequence, there is a lot of silence accompanied by our protagonist Lionel moving in different ways such as walking, getting off of the bed, etc. Because of the fact it is so quiet throughout most of the title sequence, it is important that we recorded those very small diegetic sounds to ensure that it is as realistic as can possibly be. Also, because of the intensity factor we are trying to achieve, there is bound to be a jumpscare or two, or three, in our title sequence, so I needed to add musical stings to those parts that fit with the scene. There will also need to be a very low and natural ambient sound to hold suspense, which we agreed would be the slight breeze of the air conditioning. Our director Pierce chose to also take the role of sound design, where he was responsible for recording the sounds so that I am able to place them into the video in the spots they need to be. After he got done recording them, he sent them to me through a Snapchat group chat that our whole group is a part of, where I downloaded them, emailed them to myself and then put them in the video. Getting the sound in the right spot can be a challenge however, so there are a few ways I have chosen to make it easier on myself. Sony Vegas has a marker tool, which allows you to place a small orange line on any part of a video track by pressing M on that specific frame so that you are able to use it as a reference when adding sounds. For example, say I needed to know the exact point to add the dripping sound, I would just go through the video frame by frame and pause it exactly where the droplet would hit the bottom of the sink, and then press M on that spot, where it would be marked, so I now know where to put the audio of the dripping.

What the markers look like

 Another way I've chosen to add the audio more easily was through using multiple layers throughout the video. A difficult part of adding in sound is picking out which ones need to be louder and which ones need to be quieter. The way I decided to adjust the levels of audio was to have several audio layers each of different audio levels so that the quiet noises can stay together and the loud ones can stay together.

The Layering of the Sound

How am I Using Color Correction?

 For our title sequence, we have decided to use a blue-toned color correction as suggested by our production designer Bianca Raby, in order to create a more sinister, dark, and unwelcoming feeling about the setting and the happenings occurring within it. This is commonly seen in thriller/horror films to create a dark and sinister feeling, such as this scene in 'Get Out' (2017), in which the blue color correction made it all the much scarier.

 The program I am using, Sony Vegas Pro 13 does not have your basic 'filters', but instead has a more  manual form of color correction. While there are effects that allow you to adjust the colors of midtones, there aren't really filters and once you apply these effects you have a menu that comes up where you can adjust highs, lows and mediums to be the color tone you want as well as adjusting gamma, offset and more.

Effects

Manual Menu

   As you can see, I adjusted mostly everything to the blue side of the spectrum, however I tried not to do it too much and went for more subtle changes so it did not start to look unnatural. I most heavily adjusted the highs as those were the most prevalent in all of our shots, with there being a lot of light colors and especially with the bright curtain. Adjusting the lows and midtones too heavily started making it look very unnatural, so I am sticking to mostly adjusting the highs, I also lowered the gamma and other lighting tools (as seen on the slider bars underneath the color wheels) in order to darken it slightly, not only to create a more sinister feeling but also because the light from the curtains was slightly overwhelming.

Creating Meaning Through Editing

 A huge part of editing that occurs before the actual 'editing' even starts that is often overlooked is shot selection. When editing 'Lucid Elucidations', I am going to try my best to keep in mind the intended meaning the film is supposed to hold and how the camera angles are supposed to indicate what was going on, so I do not want to deviate much from showing the long shots and over the shoulder/tracking shots unless it makes sense or is necessary, as we want to be able to convey the message that Lionel is being watched and followed. I will only be really including those into the film while editing. Along with this, the whole title sequence is one long situation occurring, so I will need to make use of match on action shots as the scene needs to fluently flow from one shot to the next without jarring the viewer. I will use sound in various ways to also create meaning. In the beginning, we have decided to include music from the start up until the first jumpscare when Lionel encounters the dummy. The song we have decided to use is 'Psycho' by Lucas King, as it is a soft piano song which helps to serve many purposes in the beginning. For one, it is easing for the viewers to hear, which lowers their suspicion of anything occurring, but is also ominous and eerie because it is higher pitched and sounds peaceful at first, providing a contrast to the dark and unsettling setting.

Lucas King: 'Psycho'

  Along with the music, I am going to add musical stings when creepy things occur, both small and large. For example, I am going to add softer musical stings to emphasize realizations, rather than drawing fear, such as the part when Lionel will walk through the curtain where he sees the shadow through but nothing will be there. I will then add loud and shocking musical stings at the more intense actions, such as when Lionel is attacked at the end. This will add to the shock and scare factor and will be what the tension builds up to.

 I am not really going to add any special transitions or effects until the end, as I want to keep the realism factor high. Adding a transition would make it feel less real, and not to mention in a film where the whole thing is practically match on action shots, transitions would not be a good idea. At the end however, when Lionel is attacked, I want to add pauses in between the shots of him dropping the laptop, the laptop hitting the floor, and the screen shown close up. This will greatly emphasize the chaos and shock of the event, jarring the viewer and almost making it seem surreal, This will be paired with slow pacing all the way up until this point, with Lionel slowly exploring his surroundings and slowly building tension, and then this faced paced, hard hitting ending will happpen and I think that will make it so much better.

What Technology Did We Use During Production?

 We used quite a broad span of technology while filming since we had to record audio, film our shots, use props, and light up the set. I am going to go over all of the devices used for each category: audio, video, and on-set technology.

Video
In order to film our more sophisticated shots such as rack focuses and shots of more shallow composition, we used Katelyn's Canon Rebel T3i, a camera with numerous things that can be adjusted such as the lenses and lighting. However, for all of the other shots, we used Katelyn's iPhone X and Robert's iPhone 8, as those are the two best quality devices we had, and we wanted to film at least two angles of each shot. The reason we didn't stick to using the camera as much was because of a few things: firstly, the camera's large size made it more difficult to shoot with, especially when in tighter spaces. Also, the camera had very poor quality when shooting in darker settings, while the iPhones the better option quality wise. Lastly, the iPhones are just overall more convenient as Katelyn was easily able to transfer the clips to her Macbook through iCloud and send me them. It was only when there were shots the camera could do that the phone couldn't that we decided to use the Camera.

iPhone X and iPhone 8

Canon Rebel T3i




Audio
 Since Pierce took the role of sound design, pretty much every single sound recorded was with his iPhone 6+, through a pre-installed app all iPhones have called 'Voice Memos', which allows you to record audio as much as you want, trim it, and share it. Using this, managed to put the files into an audio editor he got and manipulated the noises to make them sound more real. Once he completed this, he sent me the audio through our Snapchat group chat, where I downloaded the file and sent it to my computer for editing. There was only one sound Pierce was unable to record though and that was the sound of the wheelchair falling over, so I used my iPhone 7S to record the sound of my office chair falling over.

On Set
 On set, we had to use Pierce's industrial lights that he brought to the set as lighting through the curtains. We did this by plugging the light in on the other side of the curtain and had someone hold it steady on the other side so it illuminated the set and the curtain was more lit up. This also allowed for shadows to be cast through the curtain. We also used Pierce's laptop for the final scene with the computer.

Influences While Shooting

When recording our film, we used some commonly seen ideas for some of our shots, such as the dummy and shadow behind the curtains. Of course, we've seen these before and thought that they would be something we could create our own spin on. There were a few ideas that were inspired by certain movies or famous scenes, such as this scene we have where there is a repeated sentence typed up on the computer screen after Lionel dropped it. If you haven't already immediately figured it out, this was inspired by the classic film 'The Shining' (1980), in which the phrase 'All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy' was repeatedly typed out for pages and pages by Johnny, the father who is going on a spiral into insanity. We thought this would be a good addition as it would spark confusion in the audience and leave them wondering what it means or why someone would type it out so many times, further adding to the eeriness.

On top of this, the idea of the dummy was a heavily inspired touch seen in many movies, so many that I can't really name a particular one, but movies like 'Annabelle' (2014), 'The Boy' (2016) and the 'Saw' series, where there is creepy dolls/dummies/puppets used as the main antagonists in the film. This sparks fear in the viewer as it brings an inanimate object to life and on top of that portrays them as dangerous. Lastly, the idea of the shadow behind the curtain was not an idea specifically sparked from a specific film, but is just a common sight seen in horror images in videos that we thought would be creepy to employ in our film. It definitely had a creepy effect as it maintains mystery as to who or what is behind the curtain.

(right is from Lucid Elucidations)

Day Two of Reshooting

Today was very successful. We stayed after school again from 2-5 PM and managed to get all of the remaining shots, as well as correcting some shots taken the day before, such as the shot of Lionel encountering the dummy as he walks out of the room, which we shot from a different, and much better angle.

 We shot everything from when Lionel enters the next room up until the final attack, where the title card will be placed. With that last shot, if I'm being honest, we were not too certain of how exactly to execute it going into this, as it was very easy to make that part look cheesy so we wanted it to be as creepy as possible. Our director Pierce came up with the idea that the final attack should be from the silhouette behind the curtain grabbing Lionel. This turned out to work very well as it looked creepy, maintained the mystery as to who or what the shadow is and has a very valuable jumpscare effect.

 In order to take this shot, we did the same thing as yesterday that we did showing the silhouette through the curtain, this time I held the light from behind the curtain where Katelyn, the shadow figure stood in front of me, casting her shadow through the curtain.

When shooting, we stayed in keeping with the principle of long shots and over the shoulder/tracking shots as our main go-to in order to further convey the message that he's being watched and followed all the way through. These are some examples of such.

 At the end, we wanted Lionel to pick up the laptop that was on the floor, which had the words "I should have been there" typed out on it repeatedly, which we'd reveal after he drops it when being attacked. However, there was an obvious problem with that, as we did not want to risk breaking a perfectly good computer. Luckily, Pierce owned two of the same exact computers, one already being broken and the other one in good shape. So what we did was we used the broken one for when Lionel drops the laptop, and the good one when showing the screen.

Good Computer

Broken Computer

 Overall, today was very successful as we now have all of the shots we need along with several angles of each one so we have options, and we corrected some errors that were made yesterday. However, we still do not have the sounds recorded, so Pierce is going to record them once I have edited the film together so he can decide which sounds are necessary when watching it all together and recording them accordingly.

Day One of Reshooting

We have managed to schedule two days for shooting in the health science room on our school campus: today and tomorrow after school. This will last about 3 hours from the times of 2:00 PM to approximately 5:00 PM. Today we plan on getting the first half of the title sequence done, up until about the point where Lionel examines the picture frame, as well as recording most diegetic sounds such as the dripping of the sink, footsteps, etc. I will update this post once we are done shooting for the day!

(Later)

 Well, today was a success, for the most part. We managed to get the shots we needed, however, we had issues getting the sounds in our location so we have decided to record them at another time. If there was something to be learned from today, it was how to improvise. We made great use of patient dummies in the health science room, as we used them to create silhouettes behind the curtains, and we also used them for creepy effect in the title sequence, as dummies and dolls/puppets are common things added to movies of the horror/thriller genre as they tend to scare people.

We wanted to start off the film calm and unsuspicious, however, we wanted it to be ominous and nerve-racking at the same time. To do this, we took a shot of the clock ticking and sink dripping in order to create almost an eerie rhythm, which ties into how we want to pace the title sequence, slow and steady, gradually moving into the action. The constant noise occurring at a steady pace also makes the audience uneasy and nervous, as if they're on a time limit, exactly what we're trying to achieve.

The above shots particularly came with many difficulties. With the clock, we had to move many things out of the way and watch where we stood because the clock had a reflection on it where the background could be seen. We solved this by moving everything out of the way and standing elsewhere, as well as finding an angle to shoot the clock that wouldn't just reflect the camera and person holding it. The sink dripping was hard to do, as we used the Canon Rebel T3i to shoot the rack focus, and as mentioned before this is quite a sizeable camera, so squeezing it in at such a tight angle was tough, but we managed. We definitely decided Katelyn's iPhone X was definitely the best option for the other shots.

Below is a shot of our protagonist opening up the curtain to leave the room to reveal the creepy lifeless dummy slouched over in the wheelchair outside. This part is planned to be one of quite a few jumpscares in the film, in which I plan on adding a musical sting over.

This next shot will be shown after Lionel turns off the sink and sits up in his bed; a dual-layer shot revealing the shadow of the dummy laying on the bed in the room right beside him, creating a feeling of intensity and dread as it is unknown who or what is in the bed, as well as just being a creepy sight overall.

 The shot just shown was done in a certain way. We had our production designer Bianca stand behind the dummy shining a light through the curtain to create a shadow, where our director Pierce recorded from the other side of Lionel's bed to get a view of the entire scene.

 Our cinematographer Katelyn had the idea of having many long shots and over the shoulder/tracking shots. The reason for this is to send two meanings: the protagonist is being watched, and is also being followed. This of course is because he actually IS being followed and watched which will be revealed at the end with the biggest jumpscare. Below are some examples of these shots.

'Lucid Elucidations' Shot List

This is the official shot list for 'Lucid Elucidations', written by director Pierce Thomas.
This outlines all of the shots that we are intended on shooting when we reshoot our film opening.
Things are subject to change of course, but we think that this is a great outline to base our filming off of.

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Key:

(1, 2, etc.) – Multiple possibilities of the same shot; different angles/methods

(*) - a specific shot that occurs within a description

Shot List for Upcoming Shoot:

• Close-Up: Straight on shot of clock ticking
  
• Sound Match – Dripping at same tempo as clock fades in
  
• (1. Mid-shot – sink dripping in foreground, rack focus to Lionel stirring in background

2. Close-Up – Lionel opening eyes)

• Mid-shot – from back, Lionel comes into frame as he sits up, sink in background
  
• (1. Mid-shot – sink in foreground again as Lionel moves to turn off sink [Shot/Reverse Shot]

2. Medium-Long Shot/Tracking Shot – from front of bed, tracks Lionel as he moves to turn off sink

3. Wide Shot - from far away, Lionel turns off sink and sits back in bed in same shot)

• (1. Wide Shot - from front; holds as Lionel looks around, takes off bedsheet
• 2. Over-the-shoulder/Tracking Shot - from behind Lionel, moving with him as he looks around the room, lands on silhouette laying on bed in other room)
  
• (1. Close-Up - Lionel’s confused reaction to silhouette
• 2. Pull Back from Close-Up - Lionel’s reaction to silhouette, allows us to see him begin to pull off sheets)
  
• (1. Close-Up - Lionel putting feet on the ground

2. Mid-shot - from behind Lionel as he throws his feet off of the opposite side of the bed; lingers on shadow as he walks to open curtain)

• (1. Tracking Shot - from back as he walks to curtain; Lionel pulls back curtain

2. Medium-Long Shot - from back; still, as Lionel walks to curtain)

• (1. Low-angle Shot - outside of curtain, dummy in foreground and Lionel in background, shocked, Lionel steps around carefully

2. Close-Up - both straight on and angled, getting Lionel’s reaction)

• Over-the-shoulder Shot - Lionel looking at dummy (cuts back to low angle)
  
• (1. Wide Shot - Lionel steps around carefully, looking back at dummy before looking once again at shadow

2. Low-angle shot - of dummy, from different angle, able to see Lionel as he steps around)

3. Medium-Long Shot - from angle that looks down “corridor” dummy in foreground as Lionel steps around)

• High angle shot/Over-the-shoulder shot - Lionel looking down at dummy in wheelchair
  
• Close-Up - from side of Lionel’s face as he looks back at dummy in wheelchair then turns to look at silhouette (in background)
  
• POV Shot  - silhouette behind curtain
  
• (1. Close-Up - still shot of front/face of Lionel, looking at curtain, he begins to walk forward, camera does not follow

2. Close-Up/Tracking Shot - front/face of Lionel as he looks at curtain, camera follows as he begins to walk forward)

• Over-the-shoulder shot/Tracking shot - following Lionel from the side as he walks to next room, which is empty. The room beside the empty room has its curtains drawn
  
• Mid-Shot/Close-Up - still shot as he looks into room
  
• (1. Push in/Whip pan - front of Lionel as he looks into room, camera turns suddenly when a crash occurs, wheelchair tipped over in background, dummy is gone

2. Over-the-shoulder shot/Whip pan - looking into room with Lionel, turning suddenly when crash occurs)

• (1. Close-up/Rack focus - spinning wheel, empty wheelchair in foreground in focus, focus shifts to see shocked Lionel in background

2. Close-up/Shallow focus - spinning wheel, empty wheelchair constantly out of focus in foreground, only see shocked Lionel in background entire time)

• Mid-shot - front of Lionel, looking to right at the fallen wheelchair; a shadow flashes in front of the camera, Lionel looks forward in direction of camera
  
• (1. Rule of thirds - camera from behind, looking into previously empty room, it is now filled with items; Lionel a third from the left edge of the screen (not the middle)

2. Rule of thirds/Pan - the camera moves to the right, from being Lionel (who is standing to the left), the last ⅔ of the screen is the now the room in the background)

• Mid-shot/Tracking Shot - from the front of Lionel, walking into room
  
• Mid-shot/Tracking shot - from back of Lionel, walking into room
  

• Close-Up - Yellow roses in a vase/ on bed
  
• Close-Up - Candles
  
• Wide Shot [Experimental] - shot is from the side of the room, the background being the room to the left, with the silhouette laying on the bed; the angle is fairly low, lining up the silhouette laying on the bed with the bed in the current room, making it seem like she’s lying on it (meanwhile, Lionel is strolling into the room)
  
• (1. Close-Up - only shows framed picture of Lionel and girl

2. Close-Up/Tilt - from side of picture frame, framed picture of Lionel and girl, Lionel walks up, his hand comes into frame, camera follows hand arch as he brings it closer to his face

3. Close-Up/Tilt [Experimental] - straight on shot of picture frame, Lionel walks up, hand comes into frame, camera tilts upward and backward until Lionel is upside down in frame)

• Over-the-shoulder shot - looking at picture frame with Lionel, over his shoulder
  
• (1. Wide Shot - Lionel is on the right side of the room, the entire set can be seen; silhouette in back is obscured by Lionel, as he moves, it can be seen that the silhouette is sitting up

2. Mid-shot - Lionel is holding picture, *he looks at flowers on other side of the room, as he moves to go look at them, the silhouette can be seen sitting up in the background, looking at Lionel)

• (1. *Over-the-shoulder shot - we see the flowers on the other side of the room over Lionel’s shoulder

2. *POV shot - the flowers are shown on the other side of the room; Lionel’s shoulder is not included in the shot)

• Tracking Shot/Long take - Lionel walk around the bed is tracked in a mid shot, as he walks, the camera pulls out slightly and stops halfway as Lionel keeps walking, revealing that the silhouette is now standing at the curtain
  
• (1. Mid-shot - from left, we see Lionel bend down to grab the flowers, but turn quickly as he notices something in his peripheral vision

2. Tracking shot - from front, following Lionel as he walks to flowers, goes to the right slightly as he gets closer to the flowers; background still obscured - before Lionel reaches flowers, he looks to the left (at the curtains where the silhouette was previously) and the audience can finally see that the silhouette is gone)

• Close-Up - Lionel becoming frightened as he realizes that the silhouette is gone
  
• Close-Up - Lionel’s hands detracting from flower

A Change of Plans

  After viewing our rough cut, we have decided that our original plan for our film will not work particularly well. We will be reshooting entirely, and with pretty big changes to our initial script. Firstly, we will not really be using water as such a central part of our title sequence as we originally planned. By this I mean we aren't incorporating the bathtub scene into the film, nor is the sink going to be of very much importance either, apart from some dripping at the beginning. We also would like to change to a hospital setting rather than a motel as that would make more sense and could also add a bit more of a creepier feeling to the whole title sequence. The only thing we are really sticking to is the backstory and start, which goes as follows: There was a bad accident in which Lionel's (our protagonist) and his sister were attacked, his sister being killed and him being injured and hospitalized. He then wakes up, remembering nothing, when various strange occurrences start happening, and the only way for him to figure out what happened or who was responsible is through his visions and flashbacks. He will wake up in the hospital, notice a dripping sink next to him and turn it off. He will then notice the shadow of a patient on the bed in the next room over through the curtain, and get up to walk outside, where he is greeted by a dummy in a wheelchair. Startled, he will jump back into the room, where there will then be the sound of the wheelchair falling over and fast footsteps moving away from it, indicating the dummy has taken off, which is then confirmed when he reopens the curtain and sees nothing but a flipped over wheelchair. Again jumping back into the room, he will make his way over to the room beside him with the shadow of the patient on the other side, however, when he goes into the room there will be nothing on the bed. All there will be is a picture of him and his sister on the table, and after examining it for a minute, he'll notice a laptop beside the bed on the floor on the other side. He will go to pick it up, and while standing against the other curtain reading what's on the screen, it will be revealed that there is a shadow standing behind him on the other side of the curtain, which will grab him, then cutting to the title card. This will be explained much more in-depth in the new shot list, which will be posted soon.

Storyboard vs Actual Film

 Before filming, it is ideal to plan out the shots you want to shoot and how you want them to look, usually through making a storyboard, which is defined as a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a movie or television production. This is usually the cinematographer's job to do, as they are in charge of envisioning the camera angles and specific shots that are to be used in the film. The storyboard also contains some directions and dialogue to direct what the actors should be doing in these scenes. This then must be communicated with the director to make sure that it fits within the director's vision of the film and creates the best possible feel/meaning that the film is trying to achieve. The cinematographer in our group, Katelyn Wagner, made this storyboard to briefly overview the main scenes of the title sequence and show what they should look like and what will be happening. There should be a remade version of this storyboard made soon to better show the scenes in more detail, and a new post will be made discussing that when it comes up.

 As expected to happen, certain things were followed from this storyboard and other things were adjusted and/or changed when actually filming the scenes, as the way they actually looked on camera was rather not what we were thinking, or there were difficulties filming certain parts. I will be going over the individual shots shown in the storyboard vs the actual shots we used in the film and outlining rather why we kept it or why we changed it.

For the actual film itself, we decided to keep the establishing shot shown in the storyboard for the aesthetic effect, as it not only shows the location but already creates a creepy and unsettling feel as it is night time in a run down area. 

We also kept the shot 

looking down on Lionel 

sleeping because it initially establishes the centrality of his character from the start and shows him as alone, vulnerable and isolated.

We kept the shot of the ghostly girl standing behind Lionel because it is very creepy and fits the vision of the film well, it also shows she is constantly there in his mind and is always going to be there.

We decided to keep the shot of Lionel looking down on the sink but instead of it being from above his head we decided to make it a POV shot, to show from his perspective what the sink beholds. The phone was removed from this film overall due to time and resource restrictions but we plan on incorporating it in the final cut.

 We decided to not use the scenes with the bathtub in it as the bathtub at the shooting location was not as expected and did not suit well with our vision for the film. Not to mention if the water got on the floor it would leak to the bottom floor:/. However, in our final cut we fully intend on incorporating the bathtub as it was a huge part of our original vision and was a central part of our plans, however unfortunately for the rough cut the location didn't do us too well. However, during reshooting the issues can be fixed.

Sources 

https://www.vyond.com/resources/what-is-a-storyboard-and-why-do-you-need-one/

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/what-are-storyboards/

Rough Cut Reflection

Lucid Elucidations (2019) Rough Cut

• How much continuity does the video have? Are there any places where the continuity can be improved? How?

       - The video has good continuity throughout most of it, but some shots were not there and caused            problems with continuity. For example, when the protagonist went from the bed to the            

          bathroom, there was no bridge in between showing him walking to the bathroom, which could 

          disorient the viewer. There is also a scene where he starts untieing his robe, and when shown 

          from a different angle in the mirror, he is simply standing there. This is something we need to 

          keep more in mind when filming the actual title sequence.

• To what extent is the video readable as a film opening? Can you understand that it's an opening? Why or why not? What can you do to make it more readable?

       - It is fairly readable as an opening, as it doesn't reveal much of anything about the actual story, 
         however it sets up the dynamic that strange happenings are occurring and the protagonist is 
         trapped in his mind. However, there may not be enough context given into what exactly is 
         going on, making it confusing if anything.

• To what extent is the video readable within your chosen genre? Can you tell it's a horror/thriller/comedy/coming-of-age etc.? How can this area be improved?

      - The video employs low key lighting, slow, suspenseful pacing and costuming to emphasize the 

        genre, which is a psychological thriller, to a certain extent. We intend on the film to be on the 

        creepier side but not fully blown horror, which is definitely achieved in the video. Once sound is 

        employed better, this tension that a thriller is supposed to build will be greatly improved. Also, 

        the angles so far don't entirely convey the psychological context, so it is important to address 

        that when filming the actual title sequence by adding in more confusing or ambiguous shots, etc.

• Partner with someone who doesn't know anything about your video. Record their answers to the following questions:
  • What is setting (time and place)? How can you tell? -  Run down hotel at night, looks modern time frame.
  • Who are the characters? How can you tell? - Ghost lady and the protagonist.
  • What is the movie going to be about? How can you tell? - He is being haunted by someone he knows based on the cinematography.
  • To what extent is it readable as a film opening? - It looks like the exposition/context and introducing the issue.
  • To what extent is it readable as a [insert genre] film? - It had horror conventions, dark, suspenseful.
  • Overall, how might the clarity of meaning in the video be improved? - Audio, more editing continuity.

• Overall, what are your ideas for how the above aspects of the video can be improved? Reshooting? Better editing? Sound? Rewriting parts of the script? What are your next concrete steps?

      - We plan on reshooting this almost entirely due to the fact that the location we decided wasn't entirely what we envisioned when writing the script and imagining the film. There were many issues such as the lack of a decent bathroom (the one at the hotel was severely run down) and other issues alike that were not considered before filming. We plan on reshooting, this time in a house so it is roomier, we can figure out exactly what we are dealing with and overall it would probably make more sense to the film, as the reason the protagonist is in a hotel isn't really clear. Also, as far as editing goes, I plan on timing the match on action shots better and fixing a specific scene that was misplaced, which was the one where he is standing over the bed examining the cloth. I was not aware that this shot was intended to be removed. I also would like to adjust the audio levels on the final cut, as I feel that certain sounds were more overpowering than others. Also I feel that the color correction at the  beginning, which made it blueish, which is what I was going for as it not only contributed to the feel of the film, and also looks like more realistic TV light, was too dark at certain points. Also we need to address the issue of quality, as the iPhone shots have to be sent to me through texts, then I have to download them, email to myself, download on my computer, and then convert them into an mp4 file since MOV Files (iPhone video files) are not compatible with my editing software, Sony Vegas Pro 13. Because of this the quality obviously is severely decreased, so we need to find a more efficient way to get the clips to my computer without putting it through a thousand processes.