AICE Media Studies Blog

Scene 1:     - The Lost Kid is walking down a trail in the woods, looking for rocks.     - Lost Kid picks up a rock and sighs because it's too small before discarding it.     - Lost Kid: "this place sucks." Scene 2:     - Lost Kid picks up another rock and hums in appreciation.     - Lost Kid: "this'll do."     - Non-diegetic sound: Foreboding music Scene 3:      - Lost Kid puts the rock in her bag.     - Stick snaps behind Lost Kid.     - They turn around to look and find nothing. Scene 4:     - Shadow shifts on the ground.     - Diegetic sound: bushes rustling Scene 5:     - They turn back around and pick up another rock.     - Lost Kid: "Now this is a good rock." *smiles*     - After approving the rock, she starts sprinting down the trail.     - Non-diegetic sound: Music picks up. Scene 6:     - Lost Kid throws a roc...

Schedule: 2/23 (today): Finish and post the Other Information blog 2/24 (Thursday): Work on script 2/25 (Friday): Finalize script and script blog 2/26 (Saturday): Complete storyboard and storyboard blog 2/27 (Sunday): Filming w/ actors and additional help 2/28 (Monday): Music blog 3/3 (Thursday): Filming w/ actors and additional help 3/4 (Friday): Editing and going over footage 3/6 (Sunday): Filming w/ actors and additional help 3/7 (Monday): Editing 3/9 (Wednesday): Film Review 3/10 (Thursday): Editing 3/13 (Sunday): Filming w/ actors and additional help 3/15 (Tuesday): Changes made from Film Review 3/16 (Wednesday): Final touches and Final Task blog 3/30 (Wednesday): CCR blog Locations: Veterans Park ( NW 21st Ave, Oakland Park, FL 33309) , Easterlin Park ( 1000 NW 38th St, Oakland Park, FL 33309)  (pictured) Participants: Naliah Nettles, Sofia O'Connel Zamakis, Sarah Brown, Nadia Akhtar, Clarita Pavillard Health and Safety:  All participants working on this project have bee...

Working Title: I s o l a t i o n Font: Spartan Color: White (on a black background) Size: 50 The film title will appear after a cut to black in the last 6 seconds of the film before the director in the last 2 seconds. This will fade in letter by letter and fade out in reverse of the way it faded in. It will be on screen for 4 seconds. Production titles will fade into the scene letter by letter and fade out the same way. They will be on screen for 3 seconds each. Production Titles (in order of appearance): Studio: Dragon Tamer Studios Production Company: Zebra Hills Productions Actors: Naliah Nettles, Sofia O'Connel Zamakis, Clarita Pavillard Film Title: Isolation Music:  Per Kiilstofte Editor: Naliah Nettles Producers: Naliah Nettles and Amber Brown Story: Naliah Nettles Writer: Naliah Nettles Director: Naliah Nettles

 How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? There were 19 types of titles in this opening sequence. Production companies, director, actors, casting director, music directors, costume designer, editor, additional editor, production designer, director of photography, supervising producer, co-producer, co-executive producers, executive producers, producers, the novel that inspired the movie, the illustrator, writers, and director are the titles shown. What connotations do the images carry? These oversaturated images make your skin crawl with how unnatural they are in color and how your mind would subtly connect the images. For example, you can see in the background of the words a picture of two men laughing and following soon after is the image of a skull. Seeing the skull after the group of friends implies that the men committed the murder. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? There is substantial myste...

 How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? There were 13 different titles used in this film. Director, screenplay artist, the book the movie was based on, producers, executive producers, cinematographer, production designer, lead editor, costume designer, music director, music supervisors, casting directors, and actors were the types of titles shown. What connotations do the images carry? This introducing sequence appeared simple and sweet at first, but became eerie and ominous as the camera zoomed in further on the couple and the non-diegetic sound playing over the scene got louder. The sounds of a train make the audience concerned for the couple as tension rose and the audience tries to figure out what is going to go wrong. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The thriller elements here come from the happy, average couple and the danger present in the background. The danger, however, suggested an a...

 How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? There were 13 titles displayed. The production companies, actors, casting director, music director, music supervisor, costume designer, editing directors, production designer, director of photography, executive producers, producers, writer, and director were all the types of titles shown. What connotations do the images carry? This opening sequence made me feel unsettled. Starting with a kidnapper that seemed jovial toward his victims is a juxtaposition that would make anyone pause and question what they're looking at. Then it transitions to the boys on the sidewalk, a slightly more normal and casual scene that settles the audience before pulling the rug out from under them by having the man that was assaulted follow them home and attack them. This ends with an eerie sentiment and foreboding for the victims. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? (serious: kid...

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? Which ones? 17 types of titles are used in this opening sequence. The production companies, actors, casting directors, visual effects supervisor, music director, costume designer, editing director, lead colorist, production designer, director of photography, co-producer, associate producers, executive producers, lead producer, screenplay director, story director, and director are the titles used in the opening scene. What connotations do the images carry? Having the images be from interviews and have news headlines makes the situation seem widespread and dire. The rapid switch from comments to interviews to news to unrelated footage is disorienting and creates a frantic tone. Additionally, the clips of crime and police violence sets the tone for injustice and complicated motives. How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The opening of this movie was many things, but what makes i...

 The first website I found was www.artofthetitle.com. The first thing I noticed about this website is the clean design, having light colored text over a dark background so everything is easy to read and navigate. Plus, almost everything on the website can be clicked on and it's not a cluttered site so it provides many options without being overwhelming. On the topic of what title sequences are here, when you click the "title sequence" drop down menu you can see recent news in the biggest text on the left, recommended sequences in the middle, and a small section of classic sequences on the right. From watching a few sequences, I learned that classic or older titles have simple and repetitive sequences. Newer titles show more creativity and diversity. My favorite sequence was the title for Feels Good Man, showing the actions of one man that relate to the film but aren't necessarily part of the plot. It adds context to the movie and is engaging with the switch from outsi...

Common Camera Angles/Movements: The main camera movement in the movie was tracking shots and pans. This was following cars and surveying the setting. The angles, including close ups, low angles, and aerial shots, had good variety and made the movie more enjoyable. Common Mise-en-scence: Most of the movie took place at a small hospital far from any urbanization. The people in the film were mostly doctors, but included police officers and other bystanders attending the hospital. This means civilian costumes and makeup, as well as standard acting that wasn't dramatized outside of the main character.  Common Editing: This movie had the most action-match editing out of the three I researched. There was also a lot of cross-cutting and some fade-in's. This contributes to more action or the feeling of action in this film. Common Sound: There was mostly non-diegetic sound here, included stabs of music and incidental music to cue every time the main character was in pain or was rememberi...

Common Camera Angles/Movements: This movie had many close ups and two or three shots. These shots were prevalent because a close up could show detail that the setting generally lacked and there were many characters in the film so having multiple in a scene at a time would be unavoidable. There was also use of high angles that exaggerated the size and number of young girls in the film. Common Mise-en-scence: The costumes, makeup, and setting could all be described as uniform. From all of the girls and guards wearing specific outfits to the identical walls of each corridor. Another thing of note would be the lighting. It was mostly normal from white artificial light, but there were a few scenes using blue light in a dark room that created a unique affect. Common Editing: This film used shot-reverse-shots, cutaways, and jump cuts. The shot-reverse-shots were most used and were included in almost every conversation. The cutaways and jump cuts were more rare, but there none the less. This p...

Common Camera Angles/Movements: Besides the standard medium shots, there were many low angle and over-the-shoulder shots in this movie. Toward the beginning there were a few well placed aerial shots, although those lessened as the movie went on. As for movements, panning left, right, and around was consistent through the movie. Common Mise-en-scence: The main setting of this movie, a private brainwashing facility on an island, had everyone in elegant costumes and make-up. The acting in this movie was subpar in my opinion. It may be due to the writing, but I felt the characters were cliché not only in their relations to the main character but also in the stereotypes they very obviously portrayed. Plus, the lighting in this movie was vivid and unique. The setting used many different colored lights and the futuristic time period allowed certain lights to wrap around the characters in a unique way. Common Editing: The only editing styles here were shot-reverse-shots, cross cutting, and eye...

 The three genres I chose to research in my previous blogs, horror, thriller, and mystery, were genres I thought were closest to my pitch, or at least where I saw my pitch going. While I'm a big fan of thrillers and mysteries, I'm not too fond of horror movies. The suspense and slight mystery, slight horror aspect of thrillers always has me excited to curl up on the couch with some popcorn for the next 90 minutes. I feel as though I can watch a good thriller with anyone, be it family or friends. Mystery films are very hit or miss for me. I believe a good mystery movie should be believable, intriguing, and have at least one good twist. Whenever one of these criteria are not met, I typically find myself bored with the movie. Lack of believability makes the writers seem sloppy or uncaring. Without the intrigue there's no reason to be invested in the case, it might as well stay a mystery. Finally, a bad twist can sour the whole experience. I've sat through over an hour wort...

Commonalities : Camera Angles/Movements : The most prevalent angles here are close ups and two to three-shots. Mystery movies include many clues usually highlighted by close-ups. There also tend to be many characters in these movies so two-shots and three-shots are very common. Low and high angles are used to provide some variety and define the positions different characters play in the movie. Mise-en-scene : The costumes and makeup tend to describe the upper-class and the working class, always including a detective character, or the lead on solving the mystery, that dresses for the occasion. The setting is either in one large location, such as a mansion, or a wide variety of locations, such as several businesses in a small town. The lack of in-between can hurt the movie by making it feel too trapped or sporadic. Editing : As the main character conducts their investigation, shot/reverse shots are used for dialogue scenes and eye-line match's are used to bring focus to the next piec...

  Commonalities : Camera Angles/Movements : Canted angles and creative medium shots such as from between staircase rails are excessively present in these films and add to the intrigue of the story. Close ups are often used to highlight important props and expressions. Finally, pans can be found throughout for establishing shots. Mise-en-scene : The costumes, makeup, and props all resemble everyday, normal life such as a t-shirt and leggings or a cell phone. The acting is also subtle in that nothing is over-dramatized. It is essential to note choice of wording or body language when watching these movies. Additionally, the setting resembles the averageness of the above subjects, almost always taking place in a small town. Editing : Shot/reverse shots and cutaways are the most common editing tactics in these movies, and sometimes the only editing tactics. There are maybe an action match or eye-line match occasionally, but these movies use very limited variety in editing. Sound : ...

Commonalities : Camera Angles/Movements:  There is a liberal use of canted angles and a more rare use of wide and long shots. Other common angles and movements are close ups and handheld. Mise-en-scene:  The lighting in these films is usually very dim, only highlighting points of interest such as weapons or wild murderers. The setting is often isolated, with only the main antagonist and protagonist group being within a large area. The antagonist in these films use costumes and makeup to make themselves less human looking, for example Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Streets' particularly melted looking face or It from the movie It's clown outfit. The antagonists typically use weapon props such as knives or bats. The acting in these movies is all very similar, with the protagonist and their group being on edge or terrified and the antagonist being stoic, creepy, or deranged. Editing:  Action matches, zooms, and shot-reverse-shots can be found in every horror movie. The...

  Pitch #1:  Tiny person lost in the backyard. This whole film would be shot as close to the ground and as zoomed in as possible. Ants, beetles, and spiders could be enemies to the main character. The main character would be 2 inches tall at most and have prior experience in wilderness survival. Larger animals like birds and lizards could be climax antagonists. The story would follow the main character getting shrunk, surviving for a bit, then getting back indoors to the machine, and eventually returning to normal size. Pitch #2:  Teenager alone in a super desolate apocalypse. The world would be nearly empty, as if 90% of the population disappeared overnight. The main character would traverse a city alone and slowly going crazy without the internet. The reason so many people disappeared would be unknown, but there are nightmare creatures running around trying to kill people. When the main character runs into another survivor, they slowly begin to realize the monsters may ...