Creative Critical Reflection

Below is the link to my creative critical reflection for "Shattered," generated through "Prezi," which truly examines and explains all the work that went into creating this film opening sequence.  Thank you for tuning into our special look at the making of an original film, and I am delighted to say that the journey towards creating a psychological thriller is finally complete!

https://prezi.com/_qaxklp2nzye/copy-of-learn-prezi-fast/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

"Shattered" Film Opening

Our work is finally complete! Below is the link to De-Ranged Pictures' Opening Sequence for the original film, "Shattered," posted on youtube.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZSZjumZD1w

And That's a Rap...almost

Filming has been completed!! Three cheers for De-Ranged Pictures...

The entire process took only two shoots, which occurred on Saturday and Monday.  Saturday comprised the bulk of the filming work, while Monday allowed us to film little snippets of flashbacks and other quick shots that didn't go as well the first time around.  All went pretty smoothly, except not all went as planned:

Well for starters, forget what we said about our set being an office or interrogation room in a police department.  No sir.  When we realized the prospects for these settings were neither attainable nor efficient, we created the bleak set in a sunny yellow, childhood playroom in a suburban household.  Here are the materials we needed to completely transform the entire vibe of the atmosphere: two black bed sheets, a table, two chairs, a mirror, a floodlight, and a pair of scissors.  Not one thing was purchased.  It was all improvised, and we made do with what we had.  Fortunately, we were able to manipulate the set using a variety of camera techniques such as close ups and canted angle shots.  A very tricky part of this was filming the countershot of the nonexistent interviewer, considering that the black bed sheet was only able to be hung on one wall.  What we did to trick the minds of the viewers is we set up the same set, hung a mirror on the wall with scotch tape and a different kind of chair in the frame, putting Shanna's over-the-shoulder shot in the foreground to change the perspective.  This was really just a trick to make the audience believe that this all occurred within the confinement of a tiny black room, although this dark room was completely fabricated out of practically nothing.  In fact, Samantha and I were shocked to discover how well some of the shots turned out.  It was hard to believe that something so creepy and dark could have been filmed in such a cheerful and youthful room made for children to play in.  The low key lighting was achieved by turning off the lights, and using a floodlight for the shadows and lighting on the actress's face.

So now we are in the editing process, and we are almost complete.  IMovie has all the basics and essentials that we require in order to make a film introduction that really chills our audience to the bone and makes them shiver with fear.  We cannot wait for you to see it! The introduction of "shattered" is set to be released within the next couple of days, and we hope you enjoy it.  A lot of time and effort has gone into this project, but it has truly helped us grow as filmmakers and creators.  Stay tuned for the film's posting and the creative critical reflection regarding the piece of media.

More Prefilming...

So what's new in the world of "Shattered"?,..unfortunately...not much.

Here's a couple of recent updates: the featured character of the interviewer has been changed to Tyler Levinson, due to scheduling conflicts.  Shanna Iglesias, who was recently accepted into the BFA acting program at NYU, will continue to play the main role of Abigail.  We are all set to go apart from two major obstacles hindering De-Ranged Pictures' ability to film...location and scheduling.


Currently, we are able to either film in one of the legitimate interrogation rooms at the Weston PD or craft our own in one of the NSU medical school's unused offices.  The main challenge we will have is creating a creepy tonality through low key lighting.  In order to really make this effect work, we will most likely change the brightness during the editing process in addition to using different shots and angles focusing on shadows and darkness.



Some other things we hope to stay true to?  We will create foly sounds in order to dramatize Abigail's paranoid ticks.  For example, since the sound of scratching skin is very faint, we plan on using nails on sandpaper to create the right unsettling sound.  But these are just minor details.  What is really important at the moment is that we film efficiently and effectively, so we have time to make the proper edits.  Especially in psychological thrillers, editing techniques are crucial in creating the tonality we set out to make.  Wish us luck!!!!

Costumes Galore

In addition to setting, costuming is an essential part of mise-en-scene that could truly make or break the entire vibe of a film.  Today, I discussed with our featured actress Shanna Iglesias what she will be wearing during filming...which is set to occur either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week at NSU.

Her attire will be quite simple, yet effective in capturing the look of the criminally insane.  The costume is actually inspired by a character featured in an episode of "Black Mirror", found on Netflix.  Shanna will be wearing raggedy sweat pants, a ripped and somewhat stained t-shirt, and basic sneakers.  Some minor details in the look will be chipped nail polish, dark under eye circles, and teased messed-up bed hair...to the extreme.  Obviously, this costume is as basic as it gets, but De-Ranged Pictures feels that this is a simple but also quite realistic representation of a schizophrenic patient being treated at an asylum-like facility.  We were careful not to make the costuming too blatant, while also not being too subtle, because the entire point of a psychological thriller is suspense and mystery.  Basically, we do not want the audience to be sure that our heroine is actually crazy until the end of our two minute introduction.  Hopefully, the costuming we have picked will lend itself to the audience mentality we are trying to create.  Hopefully, our character Abigail will be a 'happy medium' between these two depictions of female asylum patients shown below...

                                                              
Next stop: Filming.  Stay Tuned! The hard work has yet to begin.

Prefilming...Psychological Thriller Basics Take 2

So before we begin filming, there are a couple of basic strategies that really help to create the creepy vibe present in many psychological thriller movies.  These "codes and conventions" employ many key aspects that are important within the Cambridge AICE media studies curriculum regarding film: mise-en-scene, editing, sound, theme, etc.  It really all adds up to creating one unsettling big picture!

So here's a grocery list with some key ingredients persistent in many psychological thriller films, such as 'Black Swan',' Shutter Island' and 'The Machinist', that De-Ranged pictures plans on picking up and using while concocting the opening sequence of "Shattered."

1. low key lighting and shadows..."used to add tension in a scene, and to represent the inner darkness within the characters...create enigma and mystery...dark and tense atmosphere"
2. mirrors as a symbol..."Used to portray the use of reflection of a character's inner self, as well as representing 'the dark side' of some characters."
3. quick cuts, fast paced edits, and variations of camera shots/angles...'Highlight the feelings of suspense and tension, mainly used during important scenes....done to build tension and panic amongst the audience to reflect what is happening on screen."
4. flashback/dream sequences..."give the audience an insight into the character's past...plays with the target audience's mind and makes them think about the action taking place"
5. typical/stock characters..."criminals...prison inmates...menaced women...  characters with dark past...psychotic individuals..."
   
6.  themes of insanity or state of mind/what is real vs. what is not real..."Often a character's perception of the world is revealed to be different to that of others with a more sound state of mind...The idea of what is real and what is not is commonly used in psychological thrillers...This compels the audience to pay attention and interests them as it forces them into thinking so that when they decipher the story they feel a sense of achievement."
7. music or lack there of..."mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds...there may even be no music at times...atmospheric sounds and sound effects are used to create an eerie sound and build tension."
8. coloring in set and costuming (part of mise-en-scene)..."The colours used in psychological thrillers are predominantly red, black and white.  They have connotations of danger, violence, blood, evil, and mystery."
   

There we have it.  Hopefully, De-Ranged Pictures will prove successful in creating a film that twists the audience's psyche by offering a special look into the fragile mindset of our main character, Abigail, in the original film "Shattered."  With these tips in mind, we hope to do justice to the genre of psychological thriller and create something new that is as entertaining as it is unsettling.  Looks like we have a lot of work ahead of us!


Codes and conventions of a psychological thriller. (2013, February 7). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://www.slideshare.net/paigewebbx/codes-and-conventions-of-a-psychological-thriller-16401609

De-Ranged

So what's newest on the journey to creating an original psychological thriller opening scene?  Well, for starters, we have come up with the name for our production team: "De-Ranged Pictures."  The reason for this is that, in addition to capturing the creepy essence of our motion picture, the name also serves as a play on words.  De ranged could also be taken in a more literal aspect...such as 'not all over the place.'  Regardless, our production company's name is catchy enough and frankly, quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of this project.

Next, our script is complete along with our casting!  We used an online service called "writer's duet" to create the script and a rough outline of the screenplay.  This service is efficient in the sense that it is really easy to differentiate between dialogue, actions, and shots, which made our job as novice screenwriters a helluva lot simpler.  It might behoove us to attach a copy of the script for the opening scene in "Shattered," but it contains some major spoilers, and running along with the element of suspense that is prevalent in this blog as well as our film, we have yet to disclose this.  *insert evil laugh.*  However, we are glad to announce that Shanna Iglesias will be starring as our film's disturbed protagonist, Abigail, and Josh Prem will be featured as the voice of the nonexistent interviewer.  We are sure that these actors have what it takes to do justice to our script, and truly encapsulate the creepy and unsettling vibes that De-Ranged Pictures is trying to convey through this piece of media.

Due to scheduling conflicts, we have yet to film.  However, this is somehow fortuitous because it gives us the opportunity to find the perfect filming location: a secluded office space with a creepy ambiance.  Other than that, the only materials we need to complete the setting are a big desk/table, two chairs, and a dusty mirror to hang on the wall.  All of these set pieces are accounted for, and De-Ranged Pictures plans as of now to film within an office space at Nova Southeastern University's medical school building located in Davie Florida.  This is subject to change, but will most likely wind up being our filming location. Filming is expected to be completed within two sessions: one shooting the focused interview aspect of the opening scene, and the other to shoot three tiny flashback snippets which will give the audience more background information regarding the protagonist's story.

And that's about it for now! Here's a clip from "The Dark Knight" featuring a creepy interrogation between Batman and the Joker.  I included this scene in the blog for two reasons.  1)  It has some elements that pertain to the scene we are about to create, along with fantastic script writing, acting, and mise-en-scene.  2)  It's just downright genius filmmaking by Christopher Nolan...Enjoy! Stay Tuned for more from De-Ranged Pictures Presents, "Shattered."