Props

Hey guys today I finished making the props, which consisted of the rest of the Polaroids along wih writings of schedules and information such as "friends" and "family" to show the extensive research that the stalker had made of the girl. I made sure to have my dad write it down to give the handwriting a sloppy slant to reinforce the idea of it being a man.

New decisions

Hey guys, I was going to make the storyboard so I can start filming today but I realized I thought my concept was still a little unclear. I an still working out the logistics on how to transition between the close-up shots. My  initial plan was going to be to just show a series of close-up images of Polaroids and other information about the victim but I realized that it would seem disorganized and would show no storyline so I think it will be easier to begin with a picture of the victim and string lines coming out of the picture and each string becoming a whole different section. This way I am tracing back to the idea of a stalker board rather than just images to make it seem more organized and it would just be easier to film as well. I also decided to use low lighting in my room and on my lamp placing a red shirt to give it a darker shading and create the tone of the peace

Music

For this blog post I decided to cover the music of my piece. Choosing the right song is essential since there is going to be no dialogue. I went on purple planet, a website that offers royalty free music, to start looking for the music to play in the background. After browsing through the "tense" category I found a sound that will portray the genre of horror and accurately convey this message to the audience. The sound is called "Turning the Screw", here is the link to the sound! https://www.purple-planet.com/tense

Mise-en-scene

Today I started making the Polaroids that will be included in the board. I had my brother take pictures of me walking my dog and in different parts of the house. I am wearing different clothes to show how they are taken on several occasions and there will be a glass reflection to show an outsider looking in. In addition I will have him take more pictures tomorrow during different times of the day to really capture this idea of continuous stalking.

New Opening

Hey guys. I was planning out the days for my filming with my parents and I was told that I am fully quarantined!! This meaning that I will need to rethink what to do for my opening. I was going through my notes from the course which included examples of  film openings and found the movie Se7en. 



These are images from the opening which is a series of close up and extreme close up shots. With this idea I can film everything in my room and include dark lighting to make the mood more ominous. I am still going to make my board as the main prop and just slowly include small clips of the board along with hands quickly scribbling down information.

Quarantine

Hey guys it's been a while!
Due to the quarantine from the Corona virus, I have been set back on the whole schedule. Luckily, my location for shooting is my mom's office and the actors are my dad and myself. The days I am allowed to go to the office are not set but in the meantime I can work on the props. I was researching what a "stalker board" would look like. I researched investigation boards and came upon this one.

I thought this would be a great idea to replicate because it allows for me to include a variety of information in a small space. I can use my Polaroid camera and have someone take pictures of me in my house or walking my dog as well as post its with notes, times and random facts in order to establish the idea that it is a stalker. It can also give an insight as to the personality of the stalker. Creating the board as such can indicate that the man is unorganized, lacks organization and is rather impulsive.

If going to the office becomes too much work, I can change the opening to just be a series of extreme close ups of the board so that there is no need for a background or set location. Stay safe everyone!

Location

Okay I was just thought of the best idea. Initially I was going to make the stalker's lair in a room so that he can peer outside a window to see the girl. However, I was driving to my mom's office when I realized that that was the perfect place to film. It's only one room that has enough space for me to decorate and has a huge window that takes up one wall. During the day you cannot see into the office but whoever is inside can see those outside. I thought this was perfect because it makes for a perfect stalking room. I do not have pictures of it right now, but I will stop by tomorrow so I can show it!

New Casting

I was going over my cast, literally just two people, and I realized that although there is no dialogue, I have very little representation. The girl whom I chose to play the victim is blonde, much like every girl in the stereotypical horror realm. That is why I decided to change it to a Hispanic girl. This not only shows diversity but it is also something much more relatable to me and is easier to work with.

The task now is to find a new actress. I have many people in mind but am still debating if it is easier to just cast myself. Seeing that I am already behind schedule, trying to coordinate with a whole new person will only be a setback. Either way I will keep you guys updated!

Distribution

Hey guys! I have come up with my distribution method plan for the release of the film. Not only will it be released through YouTube, but it will also be shown in local film festivals.

YouTube
The film will be available to stream through YouTube, which provides free and easy access to the movie. The film will appear under the Watch Next section whenever viewers see things related to horror or independent movies or use key words as well.

Film Festivals
The film festivals will be a great way to expose the film towards an audience that is interested and open minded. This is a great way to compare films with others and gain connections that may facilitate the distribution process in the future.The film festivals best available in Florida are:
- Miami International Film Festival
- Florida Film Festival
- Orlando Film Festival
- Freak Show Horror Film Festival

Target Audience

As I was working on the project, I realized that I need to determine the target audience for this piece. For the horror genre both males and females watch at an even amount, 52% to 48%, so the age and gender is not specifically set in stone. However, the target audience is typically teenage to young adult males. This is because many horror films satisfy that sense of vengeance and violence.

For my opening there will be no violence depicted, so I intend for a larger base of females to enjoy it as well. I am not making this adhering to a specific group of people. On the contrary, I am keeping the conventions as basic as possible in order to appeal to a larger audience. The lack of dialogue will help in this because I won't have to create jargon that only a specific group uses and instead use the silence as a way to intrigue the audience.

Casting

I finally found my actors! I decided to use my dad as the stalker and my cousin as the victim. I was initially going to use two friends I had in mind, but the schedules rarely coincided and would have been too difficult to coordinate. The characteristics of the actors remain the same nevertheless. Since the antagonist’s face will not be shown it is uncertain to the audience how old he really is. I used that to my advantage to cast my dad, who is tall and with the right costume design can look younger. I was not looking for anything in specific regarding the physical appearance of the victim, so casting my cousin was the safest and easiest option. In addition I will not need to be worried about how good the acting is because there will be no dialogue and a large portion of the intro is close ups and extreme close ups.

Shooting Schedule

Hello everyone! As I move forward with my project I decided to make a shooting schedule to better organize myself in the weeks remaining. Since this is due in the beginning of April here is what I came up with:

03/09-03/12: prop/ set design

03/13: prop/ shooting

03/ 14:shooting

03/15: shooting

03/16-03/20: editing/ reflection

03/21: reshoots

03/22: reshoots

03/28: editing

03/29: editing


I have created this method of shooting on weekends for the month of March to prepare myself during the week, taking into consideration other schoolwork and availability of the actors. With this schedule, I will be able to finish a week early in case there are any issues or delays.

Creating the Title

Helloo! I just decided the title for my opening, I’m calling it Turn Around. I decided on this because I thought it captured the idea of a stalker and the irony of how turning around may have changed the fate of the protagonist.

Most movies include short phrases or adjectives to create the title of movies in order for them to be catchy and easy to remember. Some examples include Get Out, IT and The Conjuring. My title expresses the theme and lets viewers know it is a horror movie because it alludes to conflict. I thought of this idea when I was going over the last scene in my head, where the stalker looks through the window to see the girl walking by. If she had simply just looked she would have realized that someone was watching her and made her more cautious of her surroundings.

Group Meeting

Hey guys! I had my first group meeting in class earlier this week to get some feedback on my movie intro when I realized that I was not completely sure of the plot. My introduction seemed more like a scene that would occur later in the movie rather than the beginning. With that being said, I have come up with the final movie intro.

There will be no dialogue, just music playing with the credits along with the clips. The scene begins with short and close up shots. There will be a bulletin board with a girl’s face on it and many strings coming out of her picture that connect to different pieces of her life. All that is seen throughout the scene is the back of a man or his side, but never his face to keep his identity a mystery. This will go on throughout most of the scene up until the very end, where he looks at his watch and looks outside of his window to find that the girl he has been stalking is walking by. The scene ends with him walking out and turning the light off, which is where the title will later appear.

I think that the lack of dialogue will make the scene seem like a theme song of some sort that establishes the antagonist and alludes to conflict. My idea originally of a girl getting drugged at a bar was not one that I was passionate about and did not seem like a movie opening, especially because the change in scenery so frequently created the opposite effect. With this new idea, I can play with mise-en-scene and lighting to create an eerie feeling that will better reflect the horror genre.