Group Discussions

One day in Class instead of our usual time dedicated to working on the project we did a group discussion. This gave me a chance to understand where other people are in the process and discuss the possibilities for our creative critical reflection. 

A lot of my teammates were in the editing process at this point while we had not filmed any footage yet which made us aware of how behind we were on our project and served as a wake-up call for all the processes that is going to be made this week. However, we are much more experience in editing than other teams which assures me of our ability of finishing. 

Then the creative critical reflection which everyone including me where quite confused about. However, this discussion gave me everyone's thoughts and interpretations on each question and their methods of approaching which will allow me to be able to have my own method to plan my CCR which I will reveal in an upcoming blog.

Pre Filming process

 To get started on filming there is some issue I have to iron out, this is the most involved part of the pre-production process. Now here's how the situation stands right now. We need to film the footage before the weekend starts as that is not enough time. Filming Tuesday is too early to get everything together so the earliest we could film was Wednesday. However, filming it all on Thursday is simply far too much. So we are deciding to split it between two days Wednesday and Thursday. This is also beneficial as It means I get to split all the scenes with just me and the scenes with extra people needed. 

The first hurdle we have to overcome is getting extras for the scenes. I decided to message 10 of my friends and see their schedules and what times they are free. There were 10 people asked Martin, Jared, Julian, Christian, Falla, Alula, Ceph, Daniel, and Santi. Out of all of them Santi, Christian, and Alula could not do any day of the week while the rest could only do Wednesdays. So with this, I have successfully convinced all of them to help me film Thursday. 

Then it is to actually start altering my living room for filming tomorrow. First I have to construct a blackjack table for that we got a regular table, a green table cover. The other aspect is the fact we need a shelf which I had to move out from my room and take out all the various items that were on it. In terms of equipment, my teammate ava checked out the Canon DSLR T8I camera, along with a tripod, Rhode mic, LOV mic, and RGB lighting. Below is an Image of my room with everything from the shelf on it.

Storyboard process

 In today's blog, I will be discussing the process we went through with storyboarding. This was made right after the final plot line was done as we wanted to visualize everything that had to be represented in the opening while keeping it interesting with our use of the technique. We also of course had to introduce the casino setting in that our movie will take place.  These were all the elements that we had in mind while storyboarding. 

First, instead of using paper, we decided to use technology to our advantage, by that I mean that we used an iPad for drawing the storyboards. The illustrations were rudimentary just used to see how a specific part of the shot would look and to collect our thoughts cohesively. 

While doing them we were in the space itself where all the shots would take place. This allowed me to visualize the scene and to picture what shots would best represent it.  I would describe the shots to my partner Ava who would then give me her version of how to do it and we would discuss the best way of approaching it. She then illustrated it, completing the storyboard process. 

Overall this now gives us an outline of what we're going to be filming in the upcoming week which will begin the process of production and getting together everything to film.

Plot outline

In today's blog, I will define the final plot using the three-act structure which will allow me and Ava start storyboarding and working on the production aspect.

The three-act structure is a storytelling classic within films, being used in movies  Raiders of the Lost Ark and Die Hard. It is an incredibly common tried and tested storytelling technique. This is why I think it is the best option for plotting out my plot  

Act 1

The beginning inciting incident will be his gambling ways, the film will start right at the peak of it with him playing blackjack in a casino playing blackjack. Which will lead to him winning but there is a time skip to him being in debt. Then he gambles further and just managed to gain enough to pay back the debt. 

Act 2

We then him successfully paying it off and having a clear chance to leave which he ignores seemingly for no reason indulges further. We then see a look into his past seeing him slowly fall in love with a woman. This then goes back to further gambling. 

Act 3 

He gains a great amount of debt that will now anger the mafia that runs the casino now threatening his life. He gambles further now not even playing engaging games just slot machines interlocked with flashbacks further developing that story. He gains enough money to pay back the debt but bets it on a horse he wins it but dies right after due to having angered the mafia.

Ironing out details

There are some parts of the movie development process we still haven't quite ironed out. Which is the purpose of today's blog. 

First a bit about the main character and his name. His name is Ian Miller and he is in his 20s wearing a suit of a black blazer and cream-colored pants. His appearance gives off a failed attempt to fit in with the wealthy casino people. 

The film will be called Spin to Win, of course satirizing the perspective of a gambler who wants to gain as much money as possible. The look of typography will also attempt to look retro due to the setting.

The setting of the film will be the Las Vegas strip during the late 1970s. That way the casinos will have the presence of the mafia majorly which will make for interesting conflict. Also, we deal more with gambling that's more interesting to show like Blackjack instead of slot machines or sports betting.

With all of this established we can start wor.

Inspirations

 The idea for this project did not just come out thin air. What resonated with it me about the idea of doing a project about a man with a gambling addiction in a Casino came directly inspired of two films for greatly different aspects. These two are Uncut Gems (2019) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Firstly Uncut Gems which follows a character portrayed by Adam Sandler as he dwells deeper into his money problems with sports gambling. The entire movie functions off more and more pressure coming onto himself as he gets into more and more gambling debt. This is where a lot of the themes of stress that we want to incorporate for our opening originante from. 

Then there is Fear and Loathing is Las Vegas, a less straightforward film directed by comedic genius Terry Gilliam. It follows an eccentric writer and his Samoan attorney through a psychedelic fueled trip through Las Vegas. In the surface there is a lack of connections with what I want my film to be and this film however, what I want to take away from is its Post modernist approach to storytelling as in the surface you just see characters spiral as the main plot. Which is an idea I want my film to adapt. 

Overall both movies serve as great inspiration to my project.

Filming locations

 Most of the film opening would be recorded in one room (for now) which would be the casino floor. However I want this set to be as lively as a regular casino floor in a hotel. For that we will need ample space for the room which is why I chose to turn my living room into the filming location 

 Within the living room we will move most of the furniture out set up tables with card sets and poker chips and put up led signs. Towards the back we will make a sitting area with the provided furniture just to add more depth to the set as a whole. 

This transformation will require also a good amount of people in costumes as different casino staff members. For this simple button ups and vest that I can ask people if they have or easily get for cheap at goodwill will suffice. However one thing I need a better lead for is getting tables as right now that have the exact look I want further research is needed on that.

Overall building the set might seem difficult but I’m an in advantageous position and only need to get very few things to start.

Final Plot

 This is perhaps one of the most anticipated blog entries... Yes! today I will finally detail what our plot is going to be about. That is Casinos! 

Basically we want our story to revolve around a guy who find himself in a spot in his life where he lacks any sort of excitement or enjoyment. The rush of gambling and the idea of him being able to make money are the things that keep our character going and motivated. 

We chose this as a character who’s entire situation is once characterized by his addiction to trying to make money through a method that simply won’t ever work in an incredibly interesting idea. Through it we can develop themes such as growing pressures from his gambling debts and his need to want to do more. This can be developed and translated to a great deal of techniques which we will plant out more in storyboards and shot list.

The movie will show him cycling through winning big to loosing it all his growing money troubles will be the main driving force of the action within the movie. 

Planning out my upcoming week

 This week might be the most important for our project. As the last 3 weeks have been spent researching for this covering a great amount of genres techniques and ideas. Exploring all the possibilities of what our film opening is about. Which is why today I will be detailing an outline for the next weeks of this project

The first step is to narrow down the story which we will do this week. This is the most daunting part of the process. It's important to think about the neuter story as hole not just the plot of the opening. This will follow up with us starting to storyboard and make a shotlist to have the entire opening organized.

Once we our have a story in mind, the next step is to write the  Script. Which we will Screenwriting software Celtx that will be incredibly useful for laying everything out helping us to familiarize ourselves with memorizing lines. Dialogue writing will be incredibly difficult, as creating natural and well written dialogue is greatly challenging which is why we will try to favor representing our story visually not through dialogue.

Which covers the most important planning period before filming. This outline is key to our entire film opening project which is why we will elaborate on more future planning on further blogs.

Genre Research: Quintin Tarnatino films

For my project, we will need to have a solid approach to genre and how it will affect our story. One of the Directors with the most unique approach to this is Quentin Tarantino. This is why in this blog I will study his approach to filmmaking focusing specifically on his use of genre. 

The first characteristic of Quintin Tarantino's approach to genre is the homages. For example, in his film Pulp Fiction, which is one of Taratino's earlier works. The film pays homage to movies like  Bonnie and Clyde, however with his own twist on it. Doing so, he creates a film that is both familiar and new, appealing to fans of classic cinema while also introducing something new to the table.

Another way in which Tarantino uses genre is by blending multiple genres into a single film. In his film Kill Bill, Tarantino blends elements of martial arts films, westerns, and revenge movies to create a unique film that stands out from others. By combining these different genres, Tarantino creates a film that is both thrilling and different.

In conclusion, Quentin Tarantino's use of genre is one of the defining features of his style. Whether he is paying homage to classic films or creating mash-ups of multiple genres. His unique approach to the genre could be applied to our opening's plot in order to make it stand and captivate our audience the same way Tarantino achieved it. 

Possible plot ideas

 This will be the first blog in what I imagine is a series of many in which I will start trying to tackle concepts for what the plot of our film should center. 

The main idea that intrigues me and my member right now is the idea of failure. This is as both me and my partner is something that we fear and actively try to avoid which why it would be incredibly interesting to portray someone dealing with failure within our project. The idea of failure is also a good choice as we really wanted to write what we know and relate about. 

We wanted the overall piece to center around a character who had failed. So far we have narrowed it to a character who had tried carve and alternative path in his life instead of going to a college. This decision specifically as I think something someone as myself have considered and the situation our character in one they fear. 

The other aspect we decided on is that we want this character to be either about to missing out on something due to him working on his own project. Which is again something else we can relate to and overall most likely our entire audience can as well. 

All of these ideas and concepts are going to be implemented and solidified into a plot which we then have to decide what part of to display in our opening.

Discussing the Creative Critical reflection

 The creative critical reflection might be one of the last elements we are to consider for our film opening project, however I think it is incredibly important to plan ahead in order to be successful which is why today I will be discussing possibilities on the possible options of making my creative critical reflection. 

The first and most enticing one is a director’s commentary, however. I do not want to make just a regular commentary but one that is overlayed to the film opening itself playing. Similar to what you would on a DVD included as bonus just the director chatting and giving insights into the production. This could work great to implement the question than concerns equipment and what I learned as it can display this by giving insight into the process while the actual film plays. 

However another option to tackle this would be with a Mini documentary with interviews and behind the scene b roll footage playing. This might be better as it is a more dynamic way to display this information as all the things can be shown while they are being spoken about and not just be displayed. 

The Podcast medium is also one that is enticing. Due to its straightforward approach I can really focus on the writing itself being good and not other production aspects. Which is why it might be better for the first two questions. However one does have to consider that making the podcast engaging is much more difficult which could in the long run be worse for using with the more difficult questions. 

Overall there is a great deal to consider when deciding what my creative critical reflection should focus on, however it is still incredibly important that in these blogs I begin to starts gathering enough information to successfully be able to make the creative critical reflection.

Research: American Psycho (2000)

Looking into other film openings would greatly aid in our efforts of making our own. This is why today I chose to write about the opening to the film American Psycho as I think it is incredibly well executed and well made for establishing the character and tone of the film.

The opening begins in a  completely white frame. The first thing we see is red liquid droplets falling onto the white background and spilling on it. While this happens classical music plays emphasize the feelings of luxury and the setting of the upper class. The red liquid one can easily assume to be blood. However, it is then revealed it was part of a steak dish. This juxtaposes the blood dripping down that conveys violence with the luxury of such a dish. This brilliantly sets up the tone for the rest of the film as this juxtaposition is the main focus of the entire piece.

We can learn from this opening how just a very brief and short opening can convey such a great amount of meaning. The simple sequence of the red blood and the dish establishes the key idea of the film. The approach of gabbing the main idea of the film and representing in the opening is an incredibly enticing one. As it gives the entire piece a cohesive and tight narrative.

Genre Research: Phycological Horror

The psychological horror film genre has gained a great amount of popularity and notoriety. Unlike traditional horror films that rely on techniques such as jump scares and gore, psychological horror movies create tension through slow buildup. They explore themes such as the depths of the human mind, its darkest fears, mental illness, trauma, and anxiety

An aspect of psychological horror is ambiguity. Psychological horror films usually thread the line of what's real and what is not leaving the audience with a sense of confusion that could correlate to fear. This is especially true in a film such as The Shining; In which we see a lot of supernatural events but are never let know what is real and what isn't. 

  There are other productions that also highlight different ways psychological horror can use techniques to portray the desired meaning.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari used elements of mise-en-scene such as assets and lighting in order to convey feelings of unease and paranoia. This is not only an incredibly impressive use of technique but one of the first examples of psychological horror in film. Additionally, these techniques of mise-en-scene could be applied to our projects in a very interesting way 

Overall, psychological horror is a genre that aims to explore the human mind and fear itself. It creates tension through a slow buildup, leaving the viewer questioning what is real and what is not. Psychological horror's main characteristics can be achieved through varied methods such as mise en scene. 

05, May. “Why 'the Shining' Is the Best Psychological Horror Film.” YourClassical from American Public Media and Minnesota Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, 5 May 2016, https://www.yourclassical.org/story/2016/05/05/shining-best-psychological-horror-film.

in Film, History | September 14th. “How the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Invented Psychological Horror Film & Brought Expressionism to the Screen (1920).” Open Culture, https://www.openculture.com/2022/09/how-the-cabinet-of-dr-caligari-invented-psychological-horror-film.html.