The Plan Crescendos

Schedule: 

Feb 3: Finalize Storyboard + Meeting reflection blog 

Feb 4: Media Theory Blog 

Feb 5: Finalize Main Casting/Instrument Donors + Production Logo 

Feb 6: Project Idea and Inspiration 

Feb. 7: Finalize location and scouting, find vehicle to transport instruments, finalize costuming 

Feb 8: Figure out film compositions, Storyboard Blog post 

Feb. 9: Finalize instrument donors, finalize ensemble cast, Blog Audio Post 

Feb 10-11: Mise-En-Scene Blogs 

Feb 12: Prepare for film day (Two cars, One with instruments, Veronica’s Keyboard) 

Feb. 13: Film band scene @ Town Center 

Feb 14: Blog Week Four Character Development 

Feb 16-17: Prepare Week 5 blog posts (Post on 16, 17, 19, 22) 

Feb. 18: Discuss post-production 

Feb. 21: Film walking scene + Garage scene 

Feb 23: Blog Week 6 Blog 1 

Feb. 24: Discuss post-necessities 

Feb 25: Blog Week 6 Blog 2 

Feb 26: Work on post (editing and score) 

Feb 27: Blog Week 6 Blog 3 

Feb 28: Meet up for post-production. 

March 1: Blog Week 6 Blog 4 

March 2-5: Prioritize Week Seven Blog Posts 

March 6: Visual editing (cinematography, credits, etc.) 

March 8: Score + sound mixing deadline 

March 10: Final Edit deadline 

March 11: Prepare Final Blog Posts (Post on separate days) 

 

Three Theatrical Thriller Thcredit Thequences

I might drop the alliterative titles.

Credit Sequences

    The necessary credits to include in this opening are the production company w/logo (no more than 7 seconds), main actors, editor, production design, cinematographer, producer(s), writer(s), and director.

Though the credits will primarily consist of maybe two people (not including actors,) I think it would still be important to weave it into the film opening in an engaging way. Though the main focus is the compositions and the actual content of the film opening, I want to make the credits at least a little interesting since it will be repetitive.

So I've run into a kind of issue. Most thrillers don't even include the credits in their opening scene. For good reason, I guess, since the onscreen text could take away from the immersion, especially when the opening is trying to establish a backstory. I give up, I'm going to research three different ways to integrate the credits and we'll pick evenrtually.

Whiplash (2014)

Who would have known that Whiplash would be included in a thriller about musicians? Me, I did, because I'm writing this. Whiplash's way of integrating the credits in the opening scene is to not, at all. Though this is not an option for me, so I am going to make something up inspired by it instead.

After the introduction to the two main characters, Fletcher and Andrew, there are a series of shots meant to introduce the location, New York. I think that in each cut, one could include the name of a cast member, producer, director, etc., while keeping the scene engaging to the eye.

I saw the TV glow (2024)

This movie's opening credits play on a tracking shot with a handheld camera walking forward towards a truck.

Doing something similar to this would be a simple way to get the facet of the film opening out of the way. This scene simultaneously creates suspense and adds the credits, which would be a good option for our film so the credits are not simply filler and are there while the scene serves a purpose.

Se7en (1995)

The opening credits of Se7en is the most engaging one of the current bunch. The scene is another series of close ups and extreme close ups, but also includes black screens with the names of the people who worked on the film interspersed between cuts. There are also a variety of glitching effects during this scene, which would also help keeping the viewer's eyes on the movie. This credits sequence reminds me of most TV show introductions. Additionally, it captures the mood of the movie very effectively. 

If our film opening would be inspired by this film's credits sequence, it would be a series of close ups of the band warming up and likely no glitch effects. 

Three Theatrical Thriller Thopenings

    With a genre set in place we embark on the journey of making the movie Evil Scott Pilgrim vs. the World where everyone crashes and burns and Ramona Flowers doesn't exist. For now, research on thriller openings start.

Gattaca

The film begins with two quotes that are meant to highlight the themes of the movie. However, these quotes purposefully contradict each other, which shows what will eventually be the main conflict between our protagonist, which we are soon introduced to, and his world. The atmosphere of the film opening is sullen, utilizing blue hues before showing the drab, futuristic and dystopian setting. It also shows the protagonist gear up for something that is only explained later in the movie. 

What I want to take from this opening is introducing the character already as someone they want to be, instead of the character slowly becoming who they want to be. The characters are meant to develop backwards, first hindered by their delusions that they are, in their case, a big shot garage band (oxymoron), when in reality they're just high school dropouts with no talent or desire to improve. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley

This isn't just Jude Law movies we're getting there.

What I really found interesting about this film opening was how the producers were able to portray the many “talents” our protagonist has due to him having to learn multiple skills to properly take people’s identities. This is indicated well during the scene where Mrs. Greenleaf notices the protagonist’s jacket as “Class of ‘56,” and we later find that the jacket is borrowed, and that he filled in for, what is presumably, the real Mr. Ripley.  

What I want to take from this opening is adding detail to every single frame to show how the main characters of my film opening, specifically the band, have absolutely no idea what they’re doing or anything about music and will fail. I want to do this by showing how they organize themselves on the stage, who messes up first, their counting, etc.

The Substance

This film begins with two separate scenes both filmed as overhead shots. The first is of a raw egg being injected with a substance (wow like the title!) and the yolk multiplying itself. Then it cuts to the construction of a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star with the protagonist’s name, Elizabeth Sparkle, on it. We see it go from a clean tile with people taking photos and admiring it, to the star being ignored and unmaintained. People who see the star slowly stop talking about the person whose name is on it as well, which we hear from pieces of dialogue between each cut.

Though simple, the symbolism used to quickly tell the story of Elizabeth Sparkle’s career is very creative and effective. I wanted to take this idea of symbolism and include it to foreshadow what would be the events after the film opening. Specifically through the band's ineptitude, crowd's reaction, and the music. After the band continues to mess up, only one member at first then the rest, and the crowd bashing them in return. For the music, it would be a ringing note on an electric guitar with distortion, so that the sound would swell and continuously become more unpleasant to hear.

Portfolio Project Genre #2: Thriller

  Portfolio Project Genre #2: Thriller

Thriller is a genre in media that is meant to invoke a sense of anxiety and adrenaline in the audience. It commonly intertwines with the horror genre for its purpose to provoke feelings of suspense and sometimes mystery, however oftentimes thrillers are not trying to jump-scare you. 

    Common genre conventions included in thrillers are an unreliable narrator, crime, plot twists, red herrings, tense music, and many other elements that strive to build suspense and keep the viewer on edge. A thriller that comes to mind with many of these elements is American Psycho.

    The techniques we plan to use are quick cuts and tense music. I want to create a score, at a minimum one song for this film opening, to increase the anxiety the viewer feels during the harsher scene(s).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#:~:text=A%20thriller%20generally%20keeps%20its,and%20cliffhangers%20are%20used%20extensively.

Start to Portfolio Project Genre #1: Comedy

Portfolio Project Genre #1: Comedy 

 

Comedy is a genre in media in which the primary goal is to humor the audience. In most cases, people consume comedic pieces of media to turn off their brain and just have a laugh to feel good. However, comedy is a genre that can go deeper than a slapstick joke or a simple-minded comic relief character; comedy can invite commentary on current events/issues. Unless you’re watching Fraiser S2 EP1. Or Fraiser in general.

My reaction to that episode and Fraiser in general because it is 90% ragebait

The target audience of comedies varies by the subgenre: sitcoms, romcom, slapstick, parody, dark comedy, action comedy, and mockumentary. The most popular Sitcoms, or situational comedies, can be geared towards many different audiences depending on the show/film.

Sitcoms such as The Office (look I included something British!) or Brooklyn 99 are geared towards adult audiences ranging from 18-39, while shows like iCarly or Jessie are geared towards teen audiences. Overall, slapstick comedy (e.g. Tom and Jerry or SpongeBob) appeals to younger audiences, aged 5-12, and most other subgenres cater to older audiences, 25-60.

Tom and Jerry is a good example

The marketing for comedy films commonly relies on the characters. A classic example are the Deadpool movies, where the main appeal is the protagonist, Deadpool, and his sarcastic personality are the primary feature in the promotional pieces. Additionally, The Naked Gun (2025) is marketed in a similar fashion. What the majority of comedy film trailers have in common are that the funniest scenes of the movie are featured, with some clips explaining the plot being used sparingly.

Three frames from The Naked Gun (2025) trailer

I do not understand the plot

Comedy is a delicate thing. If the jokes suck, everything falls apart. Classic comedies like Napoleon Dynamite and Monty Python and the Holy Grail had low budgets, yet the witty writing saves it from being “so bad it’s good” to “wait this is actually really good.” One can’t rely on commonly used exaggerated stunts and gags, frustrating misunderstandings, and a happy ending. Along with quick editing, props for visual gags, and bright lights. When the jokes fall flat, everything is too fast paced for you to even realize that the joke was bad. Which is why I struggled with choosing comedy as one of the genres for my project.

Best and stupidest joke in the movie
The best joke in the movie by the way

I was inspired by Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’s action-comedy style, since my story also revolves around a band. However, part of the movie’s appeal is that it isn’t grounded in reality, since it is based on a comic, and utilizes action-packed and cartoonish fight scenes to keep the watcher engaged. With my generous budget of a whopping twenty-five cents, I do not think that an action-comedy genre should be what I focus on, but will take some conventions here and there.

Comedies that I think capture the genre well:

    Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) 

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) I would put the 2025 version but the original is better. 

Sources:

PORTFOLIO PROJECT!!!!!

 HELLO CAMBRIDGE!!!!!! This blog post marks the beginning of the final portfolio project. This entails making a film opening to a movie with the story, genre, and style we will eventually come up with. So long and goodnight.