AICE Media Studies

 Hello and welcome back to my blog. After a lot of thought and discussion on our exact vision of the film, we created our storyboard. Hope you enjoy it! 

Hello and welcome back to my blog! The last time you read I was researching for my short film. My group and I were doing things like comparing short films to its feature film version, looking at conventions of short films in our genre we chose (mystery), and etc. Now that my group and I have done the research it’s finally the time to start planning for our short film. So, in this blog, I wanted to talk to you guys about the ideas our group came up with when it comes to the scheduling, location, backup plans, and etc, for our film! Schedule So, for the schedule of our movie, we want to have it completely done and submitted by March 13th. By, this date we will have all of our marketing, editing, and filming done. So, our group decided to start filming around mid February. By filming in mid February, this will allow our group leniency. For example, if we forget to film a certain aspect of the movie, by having a month left, it will allow us to go back and refilm. Not only this but, by film...

Hello and welcome back to my blog! I am continuing to research short films and their conventions. I am reviewing short films that follow my genre to learn about conventions I would need to use for my short film. As the genre I am using is mystery, I am going to be watching mystery short films. In this blog I am going to research the mystery short film, “Buried Treasure”. I was able to find this short film option on YouTube. When the film opens, the music is the first thing once again that I notice. This music is different though from the last movie I reviewed. The difference was that this music got louder progressively as the opening of the short film continued. The lighting is the same though. I notice the dark lighting. The dark lighting creates a very deep shadow and puts spotlights on certain aspects. This goes back to the point convention I’ve noticed in mystery films which is having the audience very focused on the little details. When watching, I continue to see the convention c...

Hello and welcome back to my blog! In this blog, I am going to look at the mystery short film titled, “The Last Note”. I will be researching by looking at the conventions of the mystery genre across this short mystery movie to maybe help me use those conventions in my short film. So, let’s begin! Immediately when the movie begins the first thing I notice is the music used. The music used in this film was very dark and suspenseful and it stayed at a constant speed the entire time. I also noticed the lighting as well. The lighting was very dark, and it looked like a filter was applied in the editing process. I see that the music is playing through the whole beginning portion of the movie. I see lots of different camera editing done. I see lots of cross cutting between scenes as the talking is happening like when there is a flashback. I notice that when it does cross cutting to those flashbacks the lighting is even more dark than throughout the movie. I see another editing technique used ...

Hello and welcome back to my blog. The next film I decided to look at was The Vision. The film starts off with very dark lighting, much darker than the previous film I viewed. The warm saturation in combination with lighting adds a suspenseful feeling that is very typical of mystery films. The close ups of different objects in the room builds anticipation for the viewer. It makes me sit on the edge of my seat to see where the story will go. Just like the other film, The Vision utilizes closer shots to develop the mystery of plot. Another big mystery aspect that is found in this film is its use of sound. Early on, there is a combination of ambient sounds and eerie music that combine to further keep me on my toes. In fact, the lighting sounds even caught me off guard and slightly frightened me. After being introduced to the first setting, a bedroom, and seemingly the main protagonist, the use of dialogue and props furthers the uncanny yet curious feeling in the viewer. The distressed ple...

Hello and welcome back to my blog. The first film I decided to look at was Whittling Away by True Intent. In this film, there is an interesting use of camera angles and movements, as well as Mis-En-Scene. The first thing that really stood out to me was the use of sound. The film starts out with calming ambient noise of a forest. This added a very calming and relaxing atmosphere to the film. Some lighthearted relaxing lo-fi music teens begins to play, which furthers that tranquility in the film. Then, as the young girl reveals she’s holding a knife, the noise abruptly stops. The abruptness is shocking and reveals the the viewer that this scene may not be as peaceful as it seems. This is a common trope in mystery films to trick the viewer into believing everything is normal.  Transitioning to the next scene, the setting switches from forest to a seemingly normal house. With this change in setting also comes a dramatic change in lighting, going from the cool tones of the forest to the...

  Hello and welcome back to my blog.  The next part of our research was to figure out how we even make a short film. This was our first time ever making one before, and we wanted to do as much research beforehand as possible to make sure we can create an amazing product. We first learned about the writing process, and the most important thing we learned is the value of practicality. By this I mean that when we’re writing our script we need to always keep in mind our limitations. For example, we know that we have very limited equipment for filming, being that we are highschoolers, and thus, we shouldn’t be writing a script that includes things like aerial shots or explosions. By keeping this in mind from the start, we can make sure that what we plan to film will look well-thought out, put together, and professional. Essentially, the big takeaway is for us to not bite off more than we can chew! Another important thing we learned in regards to writing is to never go with our fir...

Hello and welcome back to my blog. The next films I’ll be comparing is Le Jete and 12 Monkeys. Part 1 The concept of these two stories and how they’re similar yet different really interests me. Le Jetee is vastly different from the types of films we see today, and vastly different in style from the 12 Monkeys. It was the first in a series of photo novels that would eventually give way to stop motion movies. The images in this ominous, psychological thriller were all in black and white. However, it was still able to tell a coherent story, which is quite a feat. One reason this film was still so intriguing to watch, despite its unique style, is the types of camera shots and editing techniques that were used within the film. Another aspect that allowed this film to be so popular was the soundtrack of the movie. The creative sounds and music used helped to evoke different feelings within the viewer which elevates the film. Those are the aspects that help transform the film from a series of...

  Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today I’ll be watching and comparing the short and full length versions of the film 9. Short Film: That was, to be honest, one of the spookiest movies I've seen in a while. Nobody spoke. It appeared as though this animated universe had been abandoned because the scene was dead. These two doll-like creatures, 5 and 9, with numbers on their backs, set the scene for the story. They encounter this mechanical beast, which resembles a cross between a dog and a lion in appearance but is entirely constructed of metal. It roars fiercely and has vivid green eyes. After kidnapping five, this monster kills him with a green portal device. He starts to take more pride in his persona. The ninth figure, the other one, fled in terror and went into hiding. Eventually, we witness number nine discovering these random objects that he assembles to create a torch. However, number nine uses a lightbulb to entice the monster into an abandoned cave-like environment, wher...