Production 2

We were struggling to find a day to begin our production due to all of our busy schedules however we have now officially agreed to begin the filming process on March 22, 2019. However we had extra class time to be able to work on our project so we decided to record a little draft scene for the flashback scene so we could get a better picture of how its gonna look. We decided to go with our original idea of using a flashback from the beginning of the opening scene because we feel it gives the audience a better understanding and more background knowledge of what is happening throughout the film itself.

During the weekend Alejandro was able to find a costume of a solider which fits our character perfectly. This costume helped us out a lot as we have a small budget for this film, and it allowed us to invest more money in other areas of our production. For our draft scene I was recording and suggested that instead of focusing on the characters talking that we should just focus on the main character and give him  a majority of the attention. I added our draft scene below for you guys to see and leave some feedback on what you think of our idea, but keep in mind it is only draft and not the final take.

Production

This past weekend we were not able to go record as this was one of the weekend where we had conflicting schedules. I had to travel with my team for a soccer tournament but if all goes well this week we will be able to being our filming process and see how the first cuts come out. As we made some changes to our story board we had to do some new research to better fit our new case. I found some good websites that gave tips on how to create a cliffhanging scene and it also gives a list of some of the best films to create a cliff hanger ( link will be below). One of the films listed is Saving Private Ryan which is another film that we had used in our past research. The film has a very good opening scene as it has a very powerful meaning as well as a good transition to the next scene. A key moment for our group was when we realized that not using a flashback in the opening scene could cause us to have a more powerful scene, also it gave us a chance to plan everything out a lot better.

Sound

For our film idea we are going to need to create sounds some unique sounds but the only way to generate the perfect sound is through a folly stage. My class has already had some previous experience with folly as we had to tell a story without any words and only sounds. To be able to create our other project we had to do some research on folly (I will put some clips and links of good examples below). Our first idea for the folly was to create a whoosh sound for the flashback of the veteran at war. This would then lead us to our next scene which is the war scene where we would have to generate sounds to mimic the sound of gun fire, one of the ways that we had planned to do this was either through poppers or smacking a shoe on the ground.One of the main things to remember for folly is that you need a completely quite room and a good microphone to be able to record the sound.

Foley analysis: https://www.sound-ideas.com/Page/what-is-foley.aspx

Edits 2

In the original story board that we created we were using all the ideas that we had before the peer review, however after the peer review we decided to make some changes and are now going to have to create a brand new one based off our new ideas. Below is our original storyboard but I will post a new and improved version of it in an upcoming post. This storyboard revolved around the idea of using a flashback along with some scenes from war but in our new one it will revolve around a powerful opening and a cliffhanger at the end.

We hope that the newer storyboard will be able to tell the same story as the old one but with a more powerful and significant meaning. This past weekend we had planned to go out and record a bit of the first scene but due to the changes in the storyboard and in other conflicts we were not able to go out to start the production, hopefully by this weekend we have the new storyboard and can go record the first couple of scenes.

Edits

Last class our teacher gave us the time to do some peer review on what we have so far and it worked out really well. I was able to talk to other groups and see what they thought of our project so far and get some feedback on ways that we can improve our project. One of the ideas they gave was to put the flashback of the war towards the end rather than in the beginning like we had originally planned that way we could generate some suspense for the film rather than give a majority of the plot in the beginning. We plan to use this idea to be able to hook the audience into a suspenseful scene causing them to want more.

On this same day my group and I talked about the feedback that we got that day and what we should incorporate into the opening. After these talks we each decided to do some more research on what they told us in class. Dio was told in class that suspense films should have a strong start and a strong ending as we are trying to catch the audiences attention. We then re-talked about how we want this opening scene to go and we decided that it would be a better approach if, instead of using a flashback we would have a strong opening scene and ended it off with a cliffhanger. Since we are making changes to our original plan we will create a new and improved story board.

Planning/Research

Throughout our research on what other great movies use to create a scene that relates to PTSD we have also been doing research on what needs to be in an opening scene to make it better. I found that the first shot in a film may not be the flashiest, but it’s packed of vital information for the audience. The first scene is usually what grabs the audiences attention on whether or not they would like to stay for the rest of the movie. In our group we have talked and thought of what we think would be good ideas for a film opening. Our main focus in the opening scene will be about the past. We will show this through the use of a flashback, the flashback will take place pretty early in the scene so that the audience can have a background knowledge of what is happening throughout the rest of the film. Putting the flashbacks in the beginning will not only give the audience information but will also give us some time to tell the story we want to tell.
Example of a good flashback:

Helped give us ideas: https://screenwritingumagazine.com/2018/02/28/5-hacks-writing-killer-opening-scene/

Forrest Gump:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/

Planning

We began to create a storyboard so that we would have a better understanding of how we wanted these scenes recorded. We created this story board as a base of how we plan on doing it all but we are still making corrections and brainstorming better ideas to make the video the best possible. While we were creating the story board we used our research on PTSD to be able to show what happens to the people. We are yet to have an official shooting schedule but we have decided to shoot during the weekends as we are all busy during the week with school work. During this week we will go to Markham Park to make our final decision on where we are going to shoot but we are 90% sure that Markham is the best place. We will then find the best location inside the park as it is a huge park. Also during the week we will go buy some of the items that we are going to need to make the scene more realistic.

Used to create storyboard:https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967

Research 3

For this research I decided to find another popular movie that uses a scene where the main character suffers from PTSD. In this was it was in the movie American Sniper directed by Clint Eastwood. In this scene the main character (Chris Kyle) was sitting down staring at a blank screen thinking about the war that he had just returned from, Eastwood decided to add sound effects in the background to help the audience realize that he was thinking about when he was at war. It later transitions to a dog play fighting with a boy in the backyard, this play fighting triggered his PTSD and reminded him of when one of his form troops got attacked at war and he had to go help save him. From these scenes we were able to pick up on some of Eastwood's decisions as to why he did it and give us inspiration on how to do our scene. We want our main character to be a war veteran in his late 20's to early 30's which is why Dio's brother offered to help us create this. We will use some of the techniques used by Eastwood such as the trigger of the dog play fighting, however in our case it would be something that someone says. Dio had a good idea in class that a supporting cast member would say something similar to "Can you hold this" which would trigger the soldiers PTSD of him holding a gun during the war.

American Sniper: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2179136/
In Depth Analysis: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reel-therapy/201501/american-sniper-0

Research 2

To get a better understanding of how to incorporate a PTSD scene in our film I decided to do some research on other popular movies that created one. One of the most popular movies to use a scene that revolved around PTSD was Ironman 3 directed by Shane Black. In this restaurant scene Mr.Starks PTSD was triggered when he saw the drawing of Iron man and when the kid asked "how did you get out of the worm hole". This scene somewhat related to war as we would like to do but in this case his related to an alien invasion rather than an actual war. This scene gave us a better concept on which techniques work well to show what he is going through. The directors decided to make everyone in the restaurants voice go faint except the little kid's when he asks the question. Also the close ups on his face and the dramatic zoom to him when it hit him. All these techniques helped show to the audience that he was suffering something after the alien invasion.I was able to find a more detailed analysis of how they decided to interpret Mr.Starks case on what happens to him when his PTSD gets triggered.

We thought about using flashbacks as one of our main techniques to show that our main character is suffering from PTSD rather than any other disorder. In Dio's research he found a movie that incorporates flashbacks and relates it to PTSD, in doing his research he found and though of a better location for us to film our scene. At first we had thought about Vista View Park but we thought about it and it didn't have everything that we wanted, we then thought that Markham Park was an even better location as it had a majority of the thing we want.

Detailed analysis: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beyond-heroes-and-villains/201305/clinical-perspective-panic-and-ptsd-in-iron-man-3
Iron Man 3: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300854/

Partial Planning

For this film opening scene we plan on recording the scenes over the weekend as that is when we all have similar schedules. We are still yet to find a location to record this scene but we are looking for places which is similar to a war battlefield. Our film opening scene would be under the genre of a drama/thriller and we plan on having only one main character, which is the veteran suffering from PTSD, but we also plan to have a small supporting cast to show the other soldiers. We plan on recording all of this with a video camera that my dad uses to record my soccer games. To record this we will have to purchase some items to make it look more realistic such as some fake blood and an army suit. We plan on recording all of this outside with the broad daylight but there will be certain sound effects that we will need to create through a folly process. Most of the audio will be recored through the video camera also through a iPhone microphone.

Research

As of right now my partners and I do not have anything set in stone but we have an idea which we think would be perfect. This idea revolves around a war veteran that was diagnosed with PTSD after he came back from war. To prepare for this we decided to do some research on PTSD and how it affects people. PTSD is a disorder in which a person gets terrible memories of a dramatic event that occurred to them. PTSD can occur at any moment and can last for many years. There are certain triggers that cause PTSD, such as if someone were to get in a nearly fatal car accident and later have to drive down the same street or even just get back into the drivers seat of the car. There are treatments for PTSD including trauma-focused psychotherapy and medications. PTSD is a serious disorder in which it can affect your day to day life, and can also lead to future disorders. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that PTSD afflicts almost 31 percent of Vietnam veterans and 11 percent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan. 

Thought Process

For my project I decided to make it about a veteran who suffers from PTSD. PTSD is a severe disorder in which many soldiers contract after coming back home from war. I would represent this through flashbacks of him at war fighting to defend his country but he is constantly reminded of the loud gun shots and the terrible conditions. The movie Edward Scissorhands  uses flashbacks of when he was growing up and getting the scissors as fingers. By using these flashbacks the story was easier to understand as to why he was neglected at this point in his life.

Flashbacks are essential in certain stories as they tell you information that was not clearly stated throughout the film. The flashback in our film will explain why the veteran is suffering from PTSD and will show how this has affected his everyday life since he has gotten back from war.  Saving Private Ryan is another film which used flashbacks to convey an important message to the audience.
In this film the flashback shows that of the Ryan brothers there was only one that still was alive from the war.

I feel as if these representations were fair and used properly for the story line of the films. The flashbacks in both of these cases were used to show why it was important to get private Ryan back safely and also why Edward was neglected. They both have a negative flashback that show why they are the way they are as well as their significance to the storyline. I would challenge the representation of when they put the flashback in the film as it would have mad the storyline a lot better knowing more about the character from the beginning rather than figuring it all out towards the end of the movie but I would retain the use of the quick flashbacks.

Genre Database Entry

Genre: Comedy

Genre Conventions: The comedy genre is used to entertain people through a comedic approach. It’s main goal is to get people to laugh and enjoy what they are watching. Comedy films are targeted for all ages as anyone can relate to certain situations that may occur. In most of the comedy films there is at least one person that is known for being funny in either other movies that they have been in or from their every day life. The directors attempt to make the films relatable to the audience so that they can understand where the characters stand in the situations and fully understand what is going on.

Genre Conventions: There are many different techniques to create a comedy film. One of the main ways is through strange but funny actions that the actors do. Many of the comedic scenes occur because of something that is happening on screen rather than something that the directors added after the scene was done being recorded. One of he things that is done though is that the director leaves the camera steady during a scene and the main character will come and go off the screen. Certain movies also break the fourth wall which creates a different type of comedy film in where the character interacts with the audience.

Film sample #1- Central Intelligence is a perfect example of a comedic film as is encompasses a lot of aspects "required" for a comedy film.  For starters the director decided to choose a combination of actors that when they are together can make any movie funny. Also they entire plot of the story was well written and gave lots of room for Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson to improvise and use their ability to naturally be funny together.

Film sample #2-  Deadpool 2 is another good example of a comedy film although it is a different type of comedy. In this movie the actor breaks the fourth wall and begins speaking to the audience which creates a new aspect on comedy movies. The plot of this film adds to the comedic aspect because it is an action/comedy film in which he struggles to achieve his goal and constantly talks about his failure.

• Hangover (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/)
• We're the Millers (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723121/)
• 21 jump street (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232829/)
• American Pie (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163651/)
• Dumb and Dumber (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109686/)
• Ferris Buellers Day Off (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091042/)