Fourth Movie!

The fourth movie that we watched was Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. We chose this movie because it is a different kind of fantasy then The Hobbit or Harry Potter. Instead of magic or fantasy creatures/species, this kind of fantasy is where characters have one sort of “peculiar” power. While this isn’t what our project is going for, we still want to be knowledgeable on the range of fantasy. This movie also has some time-travel elements to it. The travel is purely magical, though, no science involved so it cannot be considered science fiction.

To start off, the movie used lighting a lot, in many different ways. While this movie’s quality isn’t the best, they did have some good lighting. Everything in the main characters original timeline was desaturated, things were more grey and light. But when the main character went back in time, everything became much more saturated, almost over saturated. We assume this is to differentiate from the two different time periods, but it could also be showing how magical the place is. The costumes also aligned to the two different time periods, and the makeup as well. Miss Peregrine had more accented makeup to make her seem more bird-like. The villains wore typical villain suits, but whenever they appeared the lighting would get really dramatic, deepening the shadows. They also had white eyes, which could be makeup or editing.

Speaking of eyes, there were creatures, perhaps CGI or the like, who attacked people and took their eyes. The victims faces were indeed missing eyes, and it was most likely done with editing. More editing includes the powers of each character, the flames, the mouth in the back of the head, the bees, and the dream-watching. One of the characters powers was to bring dolls to life, which was animated with stop motion. Miss Peregrine had the power to turn back time, which she did every day to keep the children safe. The way this was executed was interestingly done. Besides the visuals of planes going forward and then backward, or the bomb dropped going back up, there was music that played forward, then backward. To show time 

reversing, the clock went backward and the song played backward. There was a lot of music used, sometimes subtle in the background, sometimes not. There were many sound bridges used. 

Some more editing includes when two characters dove down into the ocean, and one of them used her powers to blow air into a sunken ship so they could breathe. While this is wrong on so many levels, it was probably done with CGI and maybe green-screen.

Some things we liked/want to use from this movie is the lighting. We have an idea of two different, contrasting places, so the desaturation and saturation of the scenes is something we can use. Another thing we could keep in mind is the use of stop-motion/animation. Though we don’t have a specific place we think we would use it, it is still something to think about. Some things we didn’t like from this movie, or rather, cannot do from this movie is CGI. That seems to be a common theme.

Third Movie!

Star Wars is a fantasy / adventure movie series. The fantasy setting of Star Wars is how it’s set in space.Also  how the main characters have laser swords called lightsabers. Some of the fantasy elements of Star Wars include: Storm troopers, droids, and the Wookiee race. The editing, camera angles, and sounds help Star Wars become more fantastical.

Common camera angles in Star Wars are Wide shots. Wide shots display the world of Star Wars and how it’s fantasy elements intrigue the audience. Another common camera shot  used in Star Wars is Establishing Shot. The establishing shots tell us where we are in the Star Wars universe. Places such as the Death Star.

Common Costumes in Star Wars are the Storm Trooper outfits. These outfits are the core fantasy element of Star Wars, clearly defining who is a “bad guy”. Some Actors in Star Wars include  Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill. Harrison Ford plays Han Solo. Han Solo is a smuggler, so Harrison Ford must act like one. He uses tricks to outsmart his enemies. Mark Hamill plays Luke Skywalker. Luke does not appear for very long in Episode 7 of Star Wars, so his role is very minor. Common settings in Star Wars include the interior of the Millenium Falcon, Han Solo’s ship, and Jakku. The planet of Jakku adds to the fantasy elements of Star Wars considering all the strange alien species that reside there. The planet is also entirely a desert, which would be hard to live on in real life.

The movie Star Wars uses lots of editing and sound to portray the fantasy elements. Sounds include things like the laser blasters, and the space ships engines. Common Editing includes the use of CGI for the space action scenes, and the ships exploding. Kylo Ren’s voice modifier is an example of sound using fantasy. He is changing his voice to sound more like Darth Vader, the antagonist of Episodes 3-6.

Parts that we should use in our project are camera angles like close ups. Close ups showcase the costumes that are used with the fantasy element. Some things that we won’t use will be the Costumes, used in Star Wars. This is an original, 2 minute film and Storm troopers are taken.

Second Movie!

The second movie we watched was The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smauge. Despite this movie's length, we chose it because it takes place in a high-fantasy world, which is along the lines of what we want to do. We didn't end up watching the whole movie, but we did skip through to the parts that were more blatantly otherworldly. Such parts included when they were in any kind of room, establishing shots of a new set, or the scene leading into a fight. We skipped to these sections because that's when the genre was most clearly fantasy.

Camera movements and angles were often combined in this movie. Many of the establishing shots were also high angle tracking shots of the main characters. These shots often snake through the architecture of the medieval set, and give the impression of something greater lurking. In one scene with a forest, the camera tilts upwards and to the side into a canted angle. This alone lets the audience know that there is something seriously wrong with the forest. The air of suspense created by this kind of shot is something we can use on our own project. Moreover, when the main characters are talking in a group the camera is slightly wavering, like its handheld. This particular technique creates a kind of urgency for the protagonists to act and heightens suspense. 

All music in The Hobbit has significance, the tracks are mostly a sound motif letting you know who your watching or where the characters are, tying the long movie together. Otherwise, there is a lot of sound throughout the movie. Diegetic sound is a must, the clanking of armor, clomping of boots and rustling of clothing are especially important when the objects contribute to the genre of the film to such a degree. Next, the smaller sound affects, like demonic whispering coming from the woods, works in tandem with the other film aspects to set a specific mood, like increasing suspense.

In fantasy films, editing is very important. This is because all of the magical creatures must be made with at least some CGI effects. The various beasts that attacked the protagonists were all effects so making sure to edit them in well was a must. While we can't use CGI in our final project, we can still use some of the other editing techniques. There are a lot of time skips, as the journey from one place to another takes days in a medieval setting. For these particular transitions, they are made with a dissolve when the skips are made in the same setting.

Finally, mise en scene in fantasy is the one that contributes the most to the aesthetic. Costumes, makeup and prosthetic all play a part in making up the many races and sub-races in Middle-earth. The elves' ears are elongated and their cheek bones are sharp. These differences are the easy change, heights are much more interesting. Dwarves and hobbits are half the size of an elf, so the producers must use forced perspective to change this. The actors meant to be smaller handle larger props, while larger characters use a smaller version of the prop. This is one example of how the illusion is created. Ideally, it would be fun to use something like forced perspective in our final project, and  it would certainly be fun to work with! Lighting is also a key factor in completing any fantasy scene, purple fog in the mountains and too-vivid flowers in a field both succeed in making the set feel other worldly.

Sadly, I don't think we will be able to use fog, or set up any other worldly scene for this project. We also probably won't be able to use to much make up, and our costumes will be low budget but that doesn't mean we can't try. Music will be slightly easier to work with, we need to get permission to use any song by it's composer, but it won't be impossible.

First Movie!

In the past, we were given an assignment to watch and analyze movies of a specific genre to enhance our own project. The first movie that we watched was Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. We chose fantasy for our genre, so we went through fantasy movies made after 2013(as per criteria). We found a few good movies that we narrowed down to four. We wanted movies that were high fantasy, as that is what we are going for in our own project. This movie was obviously magical, as it comes from the Harry Potter series.

Something that comes to mind when talking Harry Potter is their wands and spells, which prevailed throughout the movie. Through the use of lighting, sound effects and no doubt editing, the spells truly came to life. There were POV shots from the angle of people under a spell(with pink lights and tingling bells for the love spell), when they teleported their bodies morphed, and the fire was controlled and of different colors than normal(CGI). The people who performed these spells were dressed for the time period, and with their old fashioned clothes there was some magical flare added. The makeup wasn’t overboard, and the only way you could tell the difference between the two sides was the harsh lighting for the evil, soft lighting for the good.

Other things to mention was the camera angles and shots. When in flight, the camera zoomed around, and when on the ground, the camera looked slightly handheld during some intense moments to make the action more fluid, immersing you. When there wasn’t any action there would be close ups of Newt’s magical creatures, and when the villain shows up, sometimes the shot would start from the shoes and pan up to the face. In one scene there was a canted angle down a hallway which gave a strong feeling of uneasiness, showing the otherworldliness of it. Of course, in every scene there was always multiple angles to observe all the magic. Whether it be a shot-reverse-shot during conversation or the many angled of fleeing from a magical creature.

Speaking of magical creatures, there were a lot of them. They were CGI, and they weren’t the only things CGI. There was a table that had a magical pool in the middle of it, giving off a glow, showing characters. There were many demonstrations of floating water. Dumbledore covered the whole town in mist. There were house elves and their tools that moved by themselves. There was a feather floating and leading the characters. CGI really has come a long way, as it was well done. Of course, not all of it was CGI, like some of the technology looked like puppets. Puppets would be more manageable if we were going to consider doing something like that. And then there was the sound! Every creature and spell had its own sound, most likely made in a foley studio. Which is also something we might consider doing for our sound effects.

We took a lot of notes on what we could do, that we liked from the movies. From this one, the lighting and camera angles were something we saw we could do. Unfortunately, CGI seems a little far out of our league, so even though we liked it, is isn’t something we can apply. Another thing that we can’t use is the kind of establishing shots they take. The camera is high in the sky and swoops down, and we don’t have a drone or the time to do this, although it would be fun.

Final Decision on our Genre

Both fantasy and action genres overlap quite a bit with each other and a third genre: adventure. Despite this, we still chose to research both of them because of their small differences: character focused or plot oriented. After talking about our chosen pitch idea, we decided that fantasy would fit our needs well. The project is to make the first two minutes of a full film, and to lead the audience into wanting more. We didn't have any easily achievable ideas that would hook the audience quickly for the first 2 minutes that were in the action genre. So, when we thought about ideas for the fantasy genre, it was a instant win when we had more than 2 ideas with the genre. The way the genre clicks with the pitch is why we chose fantasy as our final projects genre.

Researching Possible Genres

The two genres we've decided to further research are Action and Fantasy. Both genres over lap quite a bit with a third genre: adventure. Originally, we wanted to research Adventure and Fantasy, but found that those two were, for our purposes, the same thing. With this in mind, we have decided to largely focus on the contrasting elements between the chosen genres. Such elements include color, lighting, angles, and types of shots.

Action films are all about capturing the movement of the actors. While they still use angles to convey the mood of each scene, the camera movements are tailored more towards action. Because of this, these films tend to be less plot oriented. There are multiple ways to focus on the action. The main technique is with camera shots. Establishing shots of where the action takes place sets the scene, and dramatic close ups during the fight create an intense effect. Point of view shots can get your viewers more immersed in the action, and swapping shots from POV to watching the action gives the action a sense of importance. These shots give a clear picture of what’s happening without being boring. 

Fantasy films typically feature magical or supernatural phenomena either as physical creatures or through the plot. Generally, this genre takes inspiration from myth and folklore to become speculative fiction. The purpose for most of the camera angles and movements are to capture the vast epicness of the world the film is set in. Wide angles and crane shots are used to accomplish this. Additionally, they use forced perspective to reinforce the differences between our world the the film's. Music is also important for a fantasy film. Epic orchestral music keeps with the fantastical elements. Moreover, Foley sounds make the creatures in the film more believable. Costumes, makeup and lighting are all used to emphasize the physical differences the film has from real life. Costumes also can set the time period, like using medieval clothing and swords. Makeup like prosthesis are used to create abnormal differences in the characters, like sharper ears and larger eyebrows, making them more memorable. Lighting also can add to a character standing out. For example, they could glow in the sunlight, or have darkness lingering behind them. This technique is also good for establishing a characters alignment with good and evil, which is a common theme in the genre.

Both genres highlight different parts of film, action focuses on the character in relation with each other, while fantasy emphasizes the world using the characters. Fantasy also usually has an emphasis on plot, while usually the plots in action movies are less interesting. Both genres have aspects that would work for our final project, so our final choice must come down to what exactly were aiming for in our final project. Will it be fast-paced, or focused on the epic story the characters tell!

Dance Genre

We had a project to research and make a power point on the Dance genre. I actually didn’t think that “dance” is a genre, and I’m still not entirely convinced, but I do agree that there is “dance” in movies. If it were me, I would call these movies musicals. But that’s not the point, right? In this project we looked at the lighting, camera angles and movement, mis en scene, and sound. We also looked at what we like and what we didn’t like about the genre. Here are pictures of the slides:

We have Chosen our pitch!

Our group has narrowed down our pitches to two instead of three! We have decided to discard “he never wanted to go back, and for a second he thought he got out. In reality he never escaped” because our idea for it was shaping to be more like a sequel then anything else. And we didn’t want to make a sequel. The pitches left to choose from include: 

• Step 1: Find the Chosen One

 Step 2: Make Chosen One fix problems

 Step 3: ....Find new Chosen One

• They made me forget, but now that I remember, I guess I should be more subtle the before, eh? I’m back baby!

The first of the two pitches is the Chosen One pitch. In this pitch, a person wakes up in a forest, unaware of how they got there. They discover that they are the Chosen One! And suck at it. It can be interpreted as fantasy, which all three of us find interesting. It will be good to have this middle ground of something we all can be creative with. While inspirational, the idea is pretty vague, so with so many ideas of what to do, it could be hard to decide on just one. It will take time, but I believe we can do it. We might have to incorporate heavy costumes and makeup, which can also be hard. We might also have an issue with actors, but I think we can bring it down to only two or three, as it is just the beginning of the story. While there are pros and cons, this might be the most manageable pitch, and the one we can all get on board with.

Then there’s the other pitch: the one about how the guy is “back baby!” We have a sort of villain story here, where the hero’s suppressed the main actors(villain) memories. In the two minutes we would show him sad, like something’s missing, then him reawakening his powers, eventually getting stopped by the heroes. We also have another version where he didn’t have his memories suppressed and he tried to figure out his powers(where the camera would be handheld by the actor). While he does have powers, we wouldn’t add any special effects, just using the power of editing instead. In that aspect, it would be easy. However, in other aspects(like plot and keeping people interested), isn’t so easy. While, if we worked on it some more we could probably come up with something, at the moment, it isn’t too appealing. We would probably incorporate some elements of this into the other pitch if we don’t end up using it. Like the special effects of editing.

Drumroll please! And our final pitch is.....The Chosen One pitch! While both of these pitches have their pros and cons, some of them similar, the Chosen One pitch is something we all have a passion for. The cheeky villain type wasn’t for everyone in our group, and I’d rather have something we all want to work with. Hopefully we can end up making this our best project yet! We do have our differences, but we have decided to keep working together instead of giving up on each other. It’s nice to start off on the right foot here. I’m definitely excited to get working on the next step.

Starting the Final Task!

Hello! My name is Breanna. I’ve been in this class for the last semester and in this one we have our final project! We will have to create the first two minutes of a movie. Not a trailer, not the middle or the end, just the beginning. I’m working with the same people I have been working with: Madelene and Josh. Now that we have some experience with each other, I feel like we will be able to smoothly get this project done. We have been thinking about this project since we first heard about it. We are excited to work on it! All three of us have different ideas and when brainstorming we sometimes clash. I think we are on our way to finding something we all like.

In our last projects we used my dads camera equipment. We will probably continue to do so. I was the one who recorded(the camera person) but for this project I might be an actor, so I’ll have to give a rundown on how to use the camera to my group members. We will probably also use the same editing software(Final Cut Pro), which all three of us will work on again. In our last projects we didn’t really do too many of the shots we have learned about in class, so this time we will try and incorporate more of them. We were also working with a monopod, and hopefully this time we can get a tripod, for a more stable video. For this project we will have to be creative with the sound as we aren't allowed to use music without getting permission. Hopefully we won’t have too many sound effects that we can’t create. I think it would be cool to make a mini foley place, though. It all depends on what we do.

We had to come up with three elevator pitches. A pitch is “a Hollywood term used to describe an idea where a film is encapsulated in 25 words or less.” Our pitches aren’t that good, to be honest. We have good ideas behind them, but I don’t think they would catch too many peoples attention. (I used the term ‘he’ to describe the main actor only for simplicity, it could be a ‘she.’)

- He never wanted to go back, and for a second he thought he got out. In reality, he never left.

- They made me forget, but now that I remember, I guess I should be more subtle then before, eh? I’m back baby!

- Step 1: Find the Chosen One
  Step 2: Make Chosen One fix problems.
  Step 3: ....Find a better Chosen One

Here are some pictures of us working:

(The first one is me, the second one is of Madelene and Josh.)