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.