Obstacles

We had an issue in our filming process because we had planned to film this weekend, on March 1st-2nd. I had found someone who had a drone for our opening shot of the car. But me and Sebastian met up this Wednesday and tried the drone, and the camera quality was not what we were expecting. The camera had an orange shade in the daytime and would be completely dark at night. We were not able to film on Wednesday due to this, so we postponed to next week, instead filming next week

So now we have to either film another scene to compensate or find another drone. Which caused us to have to begin filming Wednesday of this upcoming week 3/5. And possibly on the weekend of 3/8-9

We wanted to create a scene similar to this car, except while its driving, with the title appearing from the bottom of the car, using Adobe After Effects, while the drone is stopped, the title being "Erebus," in red, like blood, to show the genre of the movie clearly, which is psychological thriller/horror. This scene would appear near the end of the opening scene after the main character Leo gets in the car to call his therapist as he runs away from the demon Erebus. The car would speed off, and we would see the title under it as the car drove away.

We will try to find another drone to help us create this because we really like this idea.

We also had another incident where we didn't agree on a particular story. We had all agreed to do horror, and we thought that a slasher was perfect; however, our story was very iffy, and we didn't totally agree on it. We thought the story was lazy and didn't develop much thought. So we scrapped the idea and went with Adam's idea of doing a story where we take something that usually feels safe and comfortable and make it into something that makes you feel uncomfortable and in imminent danger. I decided that it would be while eating food. We all agreed that we should film at a restaurant, but after calling many restaurants to ask, none of them agreed to close so that we could film the empty restaurant. So we had to make it into a family dinner. 

Thank you for reading this. Hopefully we will be able to film on Wednesday, so we can get this over with. Our next blog will be about.

Scene Development

The first scene would be of Leo eating dinner at the table with his mom, his dad, and his sister. The table is set with plates and silverware and food and drinks. Then it cuts to his family being gone off the table in an instant, a door opens, and a man with his face covered in a black suit (Erebus), the demon, is standing behind the door. 

The demon then gets closer and closer, and we see Leo getting more scared, until he even starts to shake. The demon is now standing where the dad was before. Then, back at the dining table, the dad appears, sitting where he was before but with the demon behind him holding a knife to his neck. Leo yells "STOP," and in the blink of an eye, the family is back where they were sitting, flabbergasted at Leo and why he just yelled. He runs out of the house, embarrassed and scared for his life.

In the next scene, he gets in the car and slams the door. As he drives away, we see through the rearview mirror the demon sitting in the backseat. His hands shaking as he grabs his phone to dial a number, and he picks it up, and he says, "It's back." That scene is of him calling his therapist because the demon is haunting him once again.

This is where that scene would take place, so you can see through the demons pov in the backseat through the rearview mirror.

Thank you for reading. My next blog will be about obstacles we faced in this project. I hope you enjoyed!

Film Location

For filming locations, we thought of multiple: my house, Sebas’ house, and Mia's house. Since the last project (music project) we filmed at Mias, we said we should meet there again. However, we were also going to film in the car, and we chose Sebas’ car since he will be the actor for the main character, and my car is a manual, and he doesn’t know how to drive a manual.

Mias house has a dining table that is fitting for the scene. And it is dark lighting for the main first shot. The porch and driveway will also be used for Leo running away.

For the car scene, we will most likely film it from the inside of Sebas' car on Weston Road or another main road. We will probably film the part where he uses his phone stopped on the side of the road and uses sounds of the car still moving to make it look like he is still going. As for the outside of the car, we will film from the side of the road or with a drone.

If we have time to show the therapist's office at the end, the office would be in Mia's dad's office in her house because he works from home and his office looks like an actual office in a building. 

That's it for this blog; the next one will be about our scene development. Thank you again for taking your time to read my blog!

Audio Elements

For audio, we were thinking for the family dinner table; the audience will hear the family talking, the places and silverware, and gulps of food and drinks. These n oises will be diegetic and will be coming directly from the actors voices and foley sounds.

There is an ominous musical buildup until it goes silent and the family dissapears, leaving the kid alone. Then the killer appears, and we were thinking of adding a sting of a knife sharpening before we see the man about to kill the father, adding a lot of anxiety and buildup to the moment when he drops the knife and we hear the main character yell.

Then the killer leaves and the family appears, confused on why the kid yelled. The kid then runs out of the house, and you can hear the door slam. We are going to use Foley for the footsteps as well as the door closing. We want to make them sound loud and fast to add how frantic the character is moving. And maybe make him topple over some furniture to make it seem more realistic. We could implement the foley noise by using a shoe hitting the ground or using heavy shoes to make it louder than it should be.

We got that from this video: Foley Footsteps with Susan Fitz-Simon

After he runs out, he goes to the car and slams the door. He also starts the car, and he steps on the gas, so we can add that with Foley or use a database on the internet. We also hear the phone ringing when he calls the therapist and the conversation he has with her. This will all be diegetic noise, and we will most likely add a low, scary song in the back to keep the audience on their feet throughout the film opening.

That is it for today. Thank you for reading. Next blog will be about our filming location. We will most likely film the first part of it on Wednesday, the 5th. So be ready!

Mise En Scene: Set

 The set for our film openings will begin with the main character and his family sitting at their dinner table, with the son sitting at the end of the table, and the rest of the family sitting at other parts of the table, with no particular order. We will film this inside of a house (obviously) and then we will move to the outside as the story progresses.

The set then changes when he goes outside, and we will probably just use the front yard of the house we shot the first scene at. We can see he lives at a nice house, and we see the porch, and we see him slam the door. 

He then runs to his car (we will probably use Sebas’ car), and he will call the therapist, and have a conversation with her on the way to see her. Talking about the demon that is haunting him. He would be calling her at the time he is on the way there to show his desperation and sense of urgency because he truly feels that he is in danger after the demon looked like it was going to kill his father.

That’s it for today, i hope you enjoyed reading once again, and next blog will be about the audio elements that we are planning to use in our opening.

Mise En Scene: Costuming

 

For costuming, we have decided to do like a regular teenage look for the boy, just with more plain colors, to show how he is empty inside, but still a regular kid. Especially since he is only having dinner with his family, and they will also wear casual clothes. Something like this picture will be what he wears.

The most important and influential part of our costuming will be the villain/demon, and he will be wearing all black, and a black suit, with his face being covered either by light, or a mask because his name represents the god of darkness, and because black represents mystery/evil/grief in film color theory. To fulfill this, he will also not show his face, with either a mask, or backlight that wont let the viewer see his face, like in Psycho (1960)

If we have enough time in the film opening, we could also introduce the therapist. She will be wearing light clothes, and in a clean room. She will be very put together, since we want to create a realistic portrayal of a therapist.

Thank you guys for reading again, next time I will delve deeper into mise en scene, most likely about setting, and how we will do all the shots of the story.

Main Characters!

Main Characters & Character Development 

 The name we chose for our main character was Leo, we chose Leo because it means Lion, which is a symbol of strength and courage, this is shown through Leos character development throughout the main story. This name stuck with us because he is battling against a demon. It is also a short but still memorable name.

As for the Villain, the man in the suit without a face, we named him Erebus. We found this name and we thought it was perfect. Erebus is the name of the Greek mythological god of darkness. This name fits our character like a glove. Erebus is a dark, haunting demon, that stays hidden in the shadows throughout most of the full story. Sort of like the Smile demon in that creepy, never knowing when he will show up, kinda way.

We want leo to have character development throughout the story, we emphasized that Leo starts off as a normal boy, but he seems empty inside. He is a boy with no feelings and weird things happening to him, he is not very close to his family, and is a low maintenance person. But by the end of the story, we want Leo to show weakness and empathy, but also stand up to adversity. 

We created this mood board to show his personality and his problems.

We also made the therapist another main character, as she is the one that helps Leo throughout the main story. She plays an important role, but we decided to keep her unnamed in the intro. She is a person that Leo goes to at the end of the intro for help on what is happening to him throughout the story. The therapist tries to help him, but she realizes that she cannot help with something that is paranormal, instead she helps leo keep a mental state where he is strong enough to beat the demon haunting him in the story. She is good at her Job, and her and Leo have a great connection which makes her attempt to help him succeed in the end.

The villain is creepy, and his intention is to terrorize others because he himself is miserably stuck in a paranormal state. He always appears lurking, and he always likes to scare people before he hurts them or ruins their life. He doesn’t kill, but he makes people end their own lives from the misery. He doesn’t give up, and is very powerful, making people see anything he wants them to see, like the Smile demon. He can also see peoples thoughts, and visions, giving him even more power.

That’s it for today, Next blog will be about the mise en scene elements that we wish to implement into our film opening. Thank you again for reading!

Media Theory

Media Theory

Hey guys! Today i will be discussing the media theory that we will try to incorporate into our film opening, Erebus.

The media theory we want to use in our film opening is character type theory, focusing on the roles of the hero, villain, and helper. Our protagonist, Leo, is the hero of the story, but his journey isn’t about defeating a monster or the villain, but instead, his battle is psychological—against his fear, trauma, or a supernatural force that only he can see. Unlike action heroes who fight with strength, Leo’s struggle is internal. His goal is not really to destroy the villain, but it is to survive and resist the terror taking over his mind.

The villain of the story is the faceless man, a figure in a black suit who appears without warning. He never moves on camera, but each cut brings him closer to Leo, creating a sense of dread. He doesn’t chase or attack, but his power comes from how he distorts reality, kind of like the monster/demon from            Smile (2022)/Smile 2 (2024)

When he takes the father’s place at the dinner table and a vision shows a knife hovering above Leo’s father’s neck, it suggests something much deeper like a actual supernatural entity haunting him. His presence alone breaks Leo down, making him the definite antagonist of the story.

Leo’s moment as a hero comes when he yells, “STOP!” Just as the knife is about to fall in his vision, his scream snaps everything back to normal. This moment shows his resistance, how he refuses to let the faceless man take full control of him and his reality. Instead of freezing in fear, he reacts, forcing himself out of the nightmare. But instead of celebrating victory, he runs. He bolts from the dinner table, desperate to escape, because he knows the horror isn’t over just yet. Leo isn’t a conventional hero, sometimes heroes don’t always win by conquering evil; sometimes, surviving and resisting is enough.

At the end of the film opening, Leo makes a desperate phone call. The person on the other end, a therapist, serves as the helper in the story. In character type theory, the helper is someone who provides guidance or support to the hero. By calling them, Leo is reaching out for help, proving that he hasn’t completely given in to fear. His final words, “It’s back,” shows that he has already beaten this monster, but it’s back for more. That’s what makes him a hero—not because he destroys the villain, but because he refuses to let the fear consume him completely.

That was all for this blog, I hoped you enjoyed as always, I am currently writing this from North Carolina, where I have gone on a 4 day snowboarding trip. I am having lots of fun both writing these blogs as well as on the slopes. Next blog, I will write about how we wish to develop our characters.

Our First Script

FIRST SCRIPT, YAY!

I have made our first official script for our film opening. I worked hard on it, so I hope it will meet whoever's reading this' standards. But remember, this is just a draft for what we will truly be doing when the time has come. I used the website Celtx to create it, as it is a good starter website for creating any scripts for a film

Some stuff we changed was that instead of having it set in a restaurant, which we couldn't find one to accommodate us, we made it set in a family dinner, in a home. We also named it Erebus because we thought it reflected the dark suit character. Erebus is the god of darkness in Greek mythology, so yeah, makes sense, right? 

Well, that's all for today, guys. I had a blast writing this script, and I cant wait to do more with this idea. I hope you enjoyed it. The next blog will be about one media theory that we want to incorporate into our film opening. 

Project Summary

 Hey guys! This is the first post where I will give a detailed summary for our project.

The story begins with a boy, about 16, sitting at the dining table with his family. He doesn’t speak, his expression blank. The room is filled with the usual sounds of clinking silverware, quiet conversation, chewing. Slowly, the noises grow louder. Every scrape, gulp, and tap against the table intensifies. His grip on his fork tightens. The pressure builds, getting louder, until silence. He looks up. His family is gone. The room remains untouched, steaming plates, pulled-out chairs but he is alone. A door creaks open down the hall. A faceless man in a black suit stands in the doorway. We never see him move, but each cut brings him closer by the table, beside the boy’s chair. Then, an extreme close-up of his blank face, jump-scaring him. The boy trembles, sweat going down his face. The faceless man is now behind where the father was sitting. In a flash, his father is back, laughing, a knife hovering above his neck, held by the faceless figure. It drops. The boy jolts up, screaming, “STOP!” Reality snaps back. His family stares, confused. Without hesitation, he bolts from the table. Outside, he fumbles with his keys, gasping for breath. He jumps into his car, speeds off down an empty road. The camera, positioned in the back seat, captures him from behind, while the credits and title play on the windshield. In the rearview mirror, we see a small part of the faceless man as he sits motionless. The boy grips the wheel, hands shaking, and dials a number. Ring. Click. he whispers. His breathing quickens. “It’s back.” “It’s back.”  ITS BACK!” The screen cuts to black. Silence.

That’s about it for now, I will be writing a script soon so that will be the next blog post. I hope you enjoyed as always, and thank you for reading!

Group Meetings!!!!

Group Meetings Today!!!

Today our class went into groups (not our project groups) and we talked about our ideas. We showed each other our blogs, our script ideas, and overall what we are doing to approach this project. My entire group was new to this kind of project, so we were all learning with each other while we spoke. First we started by showing each other our blogs, then we all talked about our project ideas, and then we gave each other advice and ideas to create our story better. This is a picture of all the digital notes I took during this class.

As you can see, at the end I wrote recommendations from other people to create a better film opening. Next class, I will be discussing with my teammates how we could incorporate all of our recommendations from others into a brainstorming plan.

Sorry for the short blog, but that is all for today. I hope you still enjoyed it. The next blog will be our project summary.

How sound works to influence films

How sound works to influence films

Since we have veered towards a horror/psychological thriller genre, I have begun research on multiple things that are important to make an effective portrayal of our story, and the first thing I thought of when I started was sound.

Horror/Thriller Films across all genres incorporate music and sound techniques into their film to enhance the tone and to emerge the audience deeper into the plot. Thriller films are no exception to this. Depending on the sub-genre for thriller, for us it will lean more toward psychological; the movie could include intense music to compliment an scene with action, or it could include creepy, ominous music during a movie where there are spooky scenes or mysterious things happening.

Sound is one of the most powerful tools in films, giving us fear and tension through what we hear—both inside and outside the film’s world. Here’s how diegetic and non-diegetic sounds work to terrify us

Diegetic Sound—heard by both characters and the audience.

• A Quiet Place (2018): Every small sound (breathing, footsteps, a toy beeping) becomes a life-or-death moment, making silence its own form of terror.

• The Conjuring (2013): The eerie “hide and clap” game uses diegetic clapping sounds to create suspense, making the audience feel trapped alongside the characters.

Non-Diegetic Sound: Heard only by the audience, guiding emotions.

• Jaws (1975): The infamous "duunnn-dun... duunnn-dun" score builds dread before the shark even appears, warning us of danger before the characters sense it.

• Psycho (1960): The high-pitched violin stabs in the shower scene make the attack far more intense, turning a visual horror into an unforgettable auditory nightmare.

Films like The Shining (1980) mix unsettling real-world sounds (Danny’s tricycle on hardwood vs. carpet) with an eerie score, creating an atmosphere of pure dread. Hereditary (2018) amplifies fear with natural clicks and whispers while layering in haunting music to make the horror feel inescapable.

Why is this important?

Horror thrives on sound, diegetic or not. Diegetic noises make fear feel real, while non-diegetic music and effects manipulate our emotions. When used together, they create an immersive nightmare that stays with us long after the movie ends.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, that is my final post for the week; however, I will be back before you know it, Next class we will have a group meeting, and the next post will be a reflection post about our first group meeting. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my blog.

Picking Schedule

My Schedule:

Hello, my Cambridge friends!! Me and my team have made a schedule that we will be following during the duration of these next couple of weeks.We will have a weekly schedule that our teacher has provided for us and a daily schedule that we will follow. As for daily, we will be following this schedule, depending on whether we have Media Studies class on that day or not, as we have a rotating A, B day schedule.

Day 1: Begin blog posts

Day 2: In-class planning with group mates, blog work, and researching.

Day 3: More blog posting

Day 4: In-class work on blogs, planning, and more research

Day 5: Possible filming or brainstorming day, and blog posting day

Day 6: Possible filming or brainstorming day, and more blog posting

Day 7: Finish up blog posts, and edit and revise any that we have a problem with.

This is a general schedule that we will be following throughout the duration of these 8 or so weeks. The schedules may vary based on what we will do that week, but it is an overall estimation of what we will be doing these next couple of weeks. I will be talking about all that we will do over these weeks on these blogs. For example, today, even though it wasn't part of the schedule, we were talking about the protagonist's costume, personality, shot types, setting, lighting, set location, and how we would like to achieve all of these goals. This is a good example that it is okay to go off schedule if it's important to our development of a good project, and it doesn't get in the way of any other things on the schedule or other classwork for different classes.

Today was short and sweet, but thank you anyway for reading as always. Next blog will be about researching a blog of my choice.

Researching 3 Credit Sequences From Horror

 Researching 3 Credit Sequences From Horror 

Director, lead actors, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors are some of the roles that are mentioned during a normal credit scene.

1. Se7en (1995): Opening Credits

Techniques Used:

• Handwritten, erratic typography that flickers and jitters, creating unease.
• Rapid, disorienting cuts of grotesque imagery (e.g., a man cutting off his fingertips, violent journal entries).
• Use of high-contrast, grainy film stock for a grimy, textured feel.
• Distorted and wierdly metallic screeching sounding score, reinforcing tension.

Why It Stands Out:

• Introduces the meticulous, obsessive mind of the serial killer John Doe without showing his face.
• Creates a psychological buildup, foreshadowing the film’s themes of sin and punishment.
  

2. Halloween (1978): Opening Credits

Techniques Used:

• Slow zoom-in on a flickering jack-o’-lantern against a black background.
• Eerie, repetitive piano score by John Carpenter, establishing dread.
• Minimalist, bold orange typography that fades in and out.
• Uses simplicity to create a hypnotic and tense effect, pulling the audience into the horror atmosphere.

Why It Stands Out:

• Uses minimalism to create tension before any action begins.
• The slow-moving credits mirror the stalking nature of Michael Myers.
• Establishes the iconic score that became synonymous with slasher horror.

3. Dawn of the Dead (2004): Opening Credits

Techniques Used:

• Distorted, glitchy text appears alongside quick-cut, found-footage-style clips of the zombie outbreak.
• Blood splashes and grotesque imagery hint at the violent chaos ahead.
• "The Man Comes Around” plays over the montage, giving an eerie contrast between calm music and violent imagery.
• Mixture of real-world news footage with fictional horror scenes, making the outbreak feel realistic.

Why It Stands Out:

• The music choice adds a haunting, apocalyptic feel unlike typical horror scores.
• The raw, documentary-like footage makes the zombie outbreak feel real and immediate.
• Establishes a modern horror style different from the feel of the original Dawn of the Dead.

What do I think?

Each of these credit sequences masterfully sets the tone for their films using distinct visual, auditory, and editory (editing?) techniques. Se7en (1995) immerses viewers in psychological horror through erratic imagery and sound design; Halloween (1978) builds a slow dread with its minimalist approach; and Dawn of the Dead (2004) shocks audiences with its chaotic, realistic portrayal of a zombie outbreak. These intros aren’t just credits; they act as mood initiators, putting audiences into the world of horror before the story even begins.

This really gives me insight into the development and approaches to making a credit sequence. And all of these seem very interesting to me. However, I think that making a minimalist credit sequence would be in my group's greatest interest as it can save time and also make it so we can put our energy into something that we can make as good as possible, rather than go big and it looks bad in the end. I think that the minimalist is the perfect mix between creativity and simplicity, since we can make it have a lot of meaning while still not being very time-consuming to incorporate or create for our film opening. 

Conclusion

That was all for today. I hope you enjoyed yet another blog post, and next time I will be blogging to you guys about the schedule me and my teammates have created to manage our time efficiently and precisely.

Researching 3 Film Openings From Horror

Researching 3 Film Openings From Horror

Hello, my Cambridge friends. I will be researching today 3 film openings from the horror genre. 

I have conversed with my friends, and we have come to the agreement that we will be working together for the duration of this project. This is very exciting since we all have the same ideas for the genre and opening. 

For my three film openings I will be studying: Scream (1996), IT (2017), and Jaws (1975).

Jaws (1975)

The opening scene of Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, is an amazing example of suspense and minimalism. The sequence features a young woman swimming in the ocean at night before being attacked by an unseen shark beneath the water. The film's use of POV shots from the shark's perspective, paired with John Williams' incredible iconic score, builds an atmosphere of tension without even showing the creature. The unknowingness (if that's a word) enhances the horror, making the audience's imagination a large reason for the fear.

It (2017)

Andy Muschietti's It (2017) opens with a chilling and tragic scene featuring young Georgie Denbrough and the sinister clown known as Pennywise. The film uses bright, almost dreamlike lighting as Georgie plays in the rain, creating an initial sense of innocence. However, the moment shifts dramatically as Pennywise emerges from the storm drain, using eerie dialogue and uncomfortable stillness to give dread to the viewer. The sudden and brutal attack, featuring a graphic depiction of Georgie’s fate, establishes Pennywise as a formidable and purely evil antagonist.

Scream (1996)

The opening of Scream, directed by Wes Craven, redefined horror with its self-aware and seemingly simple approach. Featuring Drew Barrymore as an unsuspecting victim, the scene plays on traditional horror tropes while thinking outside of the box. The tense phone conversation with the mysterious Ghostface escalates gradually, utilizing diegetic sound (ringing phone, TV noise) to shock the audience and ground the horror in reality. The sudden shift from playful to violent, ending in Barrymore’s shocking death, set the scene for unpredictability in the slasher genre.

Conclusion

Each of these films uses their own unusual and unique techniques to create suspense and horror, whether through suggestion (Jaws), psychological unease (It), or genre deconstruction (Scream). Their openings use their fullest intent to set the stage for the terror that follows. These sequences stay as some of the most influential in horror cinema history, showing that first impressions in film can leave an incredibly long-lasting impact on the viewers.

WTFFF!?!?! switch-up?!?!?!

After doing in-depth research on these 3 film openings, me and my team got together and agreed that our film opening idea was honestly terrible; it was very predictable and sounded like any other basic film students horror film. So we have been brainstorming on an entirely new idea, but we are still utilizing the horror genre as ours. However, we might move more towards psychological thriller, as it seems the most unique, and we really want to let our character shine, so we want to move more away from the killings and more toward character introduction using mise-en-scene and camera techniques, rather than relying on the killings to introduce the antagonist.

Our idea has not been fully developed yet, so I will speak more on it on my next blog when it is fully developed; however, one of the ideas that we wanted to utilize was making an everyday thing that makes you feel safe and sound into something that instills fear in you. Such as a kid in a restaurant eating and everyone disappears, but he's not phased by this, almost as if it's happened to him before. But while this is happening, a man appears with a suit, his face not shown by the backlight (we want to utilize 3-point lighting to the fullest here.), and the boy seems scared, maybe sweat running down his face in extreme closeup, but he doesn't say anything. Then we cut back and forth between him in the restaurant (wearing darker clothes) and him in a therapy session, explaining the phenomenon and asking when and if it would stop (wearing different colored clothes to show a contrast in his mood). I wanted to take inspiration from Smile (2022), but not going with the sort of schitzo route that they use, but rather something that doesn't happen in real life, more like a dreamlike situation, like Nightmare on Elm St. (1984). I think this can set the scene for an amazing story, but for now we want to only use our limited time to only think on the film opening, and if this goes well, we might make it into a short film.

 

We also wanted to do an establishing shot using one of my friends drones to fly around downtown. We will also need to find a place where we can film the restaurant scene, but the therapist room might be pretty easy, as we can use any small room or find a therapist to be an actor in the story and just use their room. I want to use the drone to maybe make a short 20-second credit sequence with a song in the background, but I don't think it will fit the scene we are trying to portray, so we might just scrap it. 

That's the story for now, but I am really excited to keep going on this track and create a masterful piece that shows my fullest intent and commitment to this project. I am super excited to get this thing on!

Whats next?

Im glad you asked, and thanks for reading once again. In my next blog, I will be writing about researching, analyzing, and discussing three credit sequences from films within a chosen genre.

Choosing A Genre

CHOOSING A GENRE

Hello again, Cambridge people! Today I have picked between my 2 choices of genre and done basic research on each of these to find which I am more interested in choosing.

After researching different genres, I’ve narrowed my choices down to two: horror and thriller. Both have unique strengths, but I’m particularly drawn to horror for my project.

Horror

Definition: Horror films aim to invoke fear, tension, and shock in the audience. They often include supernatural elements, monsters, psychological terror, or violent/gory scenes.

Common Tropes:

Dark settings (abandoned houses, forests, hospitals)

Jump scares and suspenseful music

Villains like ghosts, serial killers, or demons

Themes of isolation, paranoia, and the unknown

Examples: The Conjuring, Hereditary, Halloween

(Halloween, 1978)

Thriller

Definition: Thriller films focus on suspense, tension, and excitement, often involving crime, mystery, or psychological manipulation. Unlike horror, thrillers rely more on anticipation rather than outright fear.

Common Tropes:

Fast-paced, high-stakes situations

Unpredictable twists and turns

Psychological mind games and deception

Themes of survival, justice, and revenge

Examples: Gone Girl, Se7en, A Quiet Place

(A Quiet Place, 2018)

Comparison:

Horror relies more on supernatural or violent threats, while thrillers focus on psychological or real-world dangers.

Both genres use suspense, but horror leans on fear and shock, while thrillers focus on tension and mystery.

Horror

• Instant Engagement: Fear is a universal emotion, making it easy to grab attention.
• Creative Visuals & Atmosphere: Lighting, sound, and camera work can build a unique, eerie world.
• Low-Budget Friendly: Many horror films succeed with minimal effects and small casts.
• Clear genre expectations: Audiences know to expect fear, mystery, or the supernatural.

Thriller

• Suspense from the Start: A strong opening mystery or tension keeps viewers invested.
• Smart storytelling: Twists, deception, and deep characters make for a gripping film.
• Wide Appeal: Can mix with action, crime, or psychological drama for variety.
• Cinematic Tension: Music, pacing, and editing help build unease without relying on gore.

My Choice:

I’m leaning towards horror, specifically a slasher featuring a relentless serial killer. Horror excites me because it presents a challenge—I want to push myself creatively instead of taking the easy route, and I really want to challenge myself as this is the first large-scale project I have had in any class so far.

I want the start to go around a killer that is in the woods, following 1 or 2 people that are hiking, as they are oblivious to the fact they are being followed; they are having a good time, and I can use this to show a relationship between the characters. Then, when they realize they are being watched, they are killed, and this establishes the main antagonist of the story, the killer. However, my teacher also did say that stalking is overused and might get me a lower score on my final, so I may need to rethink what I will do. Maybe it gets straight to the point and just starts with the people already aware and running from the killer.

I have been watching videos such as this one (Art of the Opening Scene) to gain knowledge on writing a film opening, and most of them say that establishing the antagonist of a story, especially horror, is a good way to bring in the audience and make them want to watch the whole film. Many great films establish their antagonist in the opening scene. In The Dark Knight (2008), the Joker’s bank heist immediately sets him up as a formidable villain. I want my opening to have a similar effect, making the killer feel unstoppable, like Jason from Friday the 13th (1980).

I want to make an opening where the killer is introduced into the story as rutheless and heartless, almost inhuman. Such as Jason from Friday the 13th (1980) or Michael Myers from Halloween (1978). 

Last blog, I talked about a GoPro we might use, and I think that we can use it as maybe a POV shot for the main killer in the story or for the victims that are trying to escape.

I think I want there to be 2 victims. With 2, I think I can use it to my advantage because then I can use the screen time before the killings to introduce the characters and their relationship. I think this would be a good use of my time because I want to show not only my ability to use techniques for filming but also for writing the story.

Thank you for reading my blog, In my next blog, I will talk about my research, analysis, and discussion of three film openings from my chosen genre (horror)

Day 1: Portfolio Project

Today is officially day 1 of starting my portfolio project. So to whoever is interested enough to read this (Hello there, Mr. or Ms. Cambridge), I hope you enjoy the process of creating my very first film opening.

I started by looking up videos of the best film openings; however, I found myself in kind of a slump since all of these either had crazy expensive scenes to make OR were too long for me to take inspiration from and incorporate into 2 minutes. However, some scenes that caught my eye were the opening to Scream (1996) and Jaws (1975). I particularly found Scream's opening scene very interesting, as it is very intense and makes you sit at the edge of your seat without even showing the killer once. 

For now, I'm not sure who I want to work with, as my friends are fun to be with, but I don't know if our views will align to make the best possible project, so for now I will be working alone. I also want to recruit some people to be actors for my project.

As far as the title sequence, I think it will most likely overlap the opening, showing the director, writer, major actors, cinematographer, editor, and others. I would like to not spend any of the 2 minutes in a dedicated title sequence, as I think it just wastes time and seems like a cheap way to kind of cheat the project.

I have asked one of my close friends, Federico, for his help, as he has a nice camera that we can use to film the opening (I don't know what brand it is; I didn't ask him). He also has a GoPro that we might be able to use. I honestly have little to no experience filming, and I'm pretty sure that camera is like a baby to him, so I think he will be the one filming. 

Honestly, my creative juices are really flowing, and I'm really excited to see where this journey brings me and to see if this is what I want to do in the future. But to be frank, I am really nervous since this is also worth 50% of my final grade, and I reallyyy want to do well on this.

Oh yeah, and here are my notes that I have taken on film openings and blogging for the past couple classes.

For the opening, I would like to establish characters. I really want their clothes to show who they are as people. For now, I don't have any real ideas, but I am really interested in doing maybe 90's style. I think after I have created the characters for the story, I will go to a thrift store and buy some clothes I think will fit the characters well. 

I also would like to develop the setting. I am thinking of using natural lighting, along with some flashlights that are used by the characters, a night ambiance, relying on detail, costume design, and many angles and inserts.

This is it for now. I am so excited for this new chapter of my life. Thank you for reading this. Tomorrow I will be writing about what genres I have thought about (horror is definitely one of them) and some basic research on each of them.