Cambridge Blog Post #12

 Today, me and my group got on a call and talked all about our film openings intro. More specifically, why it is different from most other horror and comedy movies. Our narration aspect, is able to give us a lot more creative freedom than we would normally have in a different situation. We get to tell our audience a bit about the situation that they currently see unfolding on the screen. Most horror films would play the situation being shown as completely serious. Most comedy films would play off the situation as completely funny. With our idea, and the genre we have chosen, we can do both. Which leaves us open to more creative opportunities. Ideas like this have been seen in this genre before. The difference with us, is that we are elevating it. We are bringing it to a place that has almost never been seen before. I cannot wait to see it play out. Especially since next time we meet, we will begin the storyboarding process most likely. I have my own concerns about that, which I will elaborate on in my next post. The challenges of it, the benefits of it, it should be an interesting part in helping to bring this project all together.

Cambridge Blog Post #11

 Today in class, we got critiques on our idea, and gave critiques of our own. From what they all said, they really seemed to enjoy our overall plan. They said they enjoyed the premise that we had given for our film, as well as our plans on how to execute the filming of it. They also liked our idea of using narration, because it plays well into Character vs. Self. I think the call overall was very productive, but that does not mean they necessarily liked all aspects.

The first thing that the group critiqued, was our plan on how to adapt our filming into a real world setting. The idea may be solid, but they were worried that there may not be any type of setting good enough to fit a story like this into. But we went into a bit more detail on how we planned to combat this, and explained which settings we were considering using. After that they felt a little more confident about our idea. Another critique that they had was based on the Covid restrictions. They felt as if with the time we are living in, we may put ourselves at risk by going to these sort of grand areas. So, we had to explain how we would be taking proper precautions during filming, and we feel confident that we will be completely safe during it.

The group we talked with also gave us ideas on our film. For example, they liked our idea on Character vs. Self, but they told us that we could possibly go a lot deeper into the concept. Maybe make it a message on mental health. Which when thinking about it, actually made a lot of sense. My group members and I have been talking, and we hopefully can incorporate an element such as that one into the film. We are currently in the stage of script-writing, and my hope is that we can all agree on most of the things. But I know that sadly it does not always pan out that way. So I expect there to be some arguments, but hopefully nothing that we cannot handle.

Cambridge Blog Post #10

 Today, we tried to finalize everything that we needed to for our film. The most important element that we had to finalize though was the type of comedy that we wanted to use in the film. In these blog posts, I have talked a lot about the horror elements of the film opening. But I have barely talked about the comedy elements that we will be utilizing. There are many different types of elements and genres of comedy. Classical comedy, slapstick, the list goes on. Although their are many types of sub genres we could choose from, the one that my group and I will be working with is slapstick comedy, under the guise of a dark comedy.

A dark comedy can be brutal, and slapstick is the perfect type of comedy to go along with it. It requires a lot of physical movement, but also timing. If slapstick comedy is not done just right, then it can become extremely unfunny and awkward. That is why the in films nowadays, seeing slapstick comedy is extremely rare. As the times move on, so does the type of comedy that is popular. But my group and I are confident that we can do justice to the comedy of slapstick. We have an idea, that once integrated with our other element of horror, we feel would work perfectly for our film.

I believe that soon enough, we will begin the filming process. We already have a couple of locations scouted, and now with this final part of our film opening figured out, it makes our job a lot simpler. Next time in class, we will be getting critiques from peers. I think overall people will enjoy the idea. Although, we are definitely open to criticism.

Cambridge Blog Post #9

 Today in class, my group and I talked a lot more in-depth about what the main character of our film will be going through. We wanted to make sure that the plot was simple yet effective. We didn't want it to be cliché, but at the same time, we wanted to make sure it was not convoluted. So, we really started to think about what type of subject would best fit our film. This is when we decided on an age old horror-comedy favorite. Character vs. self. Character vs. Self is the perfect subject for us to use. Not only does it make for an interesting story, but it is extremely different from what most other horror-comedy movies do. Most of those films have some type of comedic slasher as their villain, but we want to take a much different path to the other films. Character vs. Self, helps us see our characters real struggles, and their true selves. It will be a funny film, but what you see will have purpose. This also helps with the way that we can write our scripts. It is able to bring our film and the world around it a lot more fluidly. I cannot wait to begin the filming process.

Cambridge Blog Post #8

 Today, my group and I were able to pitch our film opening idea those in our target market. Personally, I was pretty nervous about this step that we took. While the entire point of this step is to get constructive criticism, you never want people to hate what you have come up with too much. But overall I think that this experience went well. I learned a lot from each person.

For one, one participant talked about the idea of a flashback opening sounding a bit cliché. They said that it was something that they had seen in many movies before. Although, I told them that I had seen those types of openings more in action and thriller films. It is very rare to see something like that in a horror film. Once I was able to explain that to them, they were a lot more understanding. The process of talking freely with each other, was extremely important, because even if the truth may be hard to hear sometimes, it is definitely something that is necessary to hear.

Another participant, highlighted exactly what we thought about when making this idea. They talked about how our opening allowed us for a lot of freedom creatively. This is exactly what we wanted people to pick up on. With a film opening like ours, we are not restricted by much, and it was important that people realize the creative freedom that was involved in this project. Although, this person was also critical in some areas as well. They talked about how they were not sure how we can make a fight scene scary while also being funny, especially since we have limited resources. That was when I explained, that even if the fight is not scary, then it is our job to do other things to make up for it. Things like settings and props would really give the film that really scary and funny factor.

Overall, I think this process was a very necessary one. My group and I managed to learn what we were doing well with our film. We managed to learn all the things that we could definitely work on more as well. We also got some important notes for the future if the film, as well as some suggestions on how to make it a lot more scary and funny. Maybe we will be doing this again in the future after we have some footage shot. In order to make sure that we are on the right path with all that we are doing.

Cambridge Blog Post #7

 Today in class my group and I finally managed to settle on a concept for our film opening project. Over the last couple of weeks we thought a good amount about this idea. It not only has to have very good horror elements to it, but it also has to be able to seamlessly blend in the humor elements that we would like to add. We think that we have finally come up with an idea that is going to be able to suit all the aspects that we want to reach. It is a term in which we have been calling "flashback horror".

The concept we have come up with, is to start our film, near the ending of it. We are thinking that this will engage the audience in what they are currently watching. We thought that maybe what would happen is that are main character is all bruised and beaten down, and they are close to death. It seems as if all hope is lost, and they see the figure in front of them that may end their life. Although, just as we see what is about to happen to them, the video cuts to the words against a black screen that say "3 days earlier". We think that by doing this, we will give our audience a sense of excitement. Something to anticipate during the length of the film. 

Through the use of this tactic, we also allow ourselves to have as much creative freedom as possible. We get to have fun with thinking up what the situation seen in the opening can be about. We can have fun with the fighting and look of the scene overall. These circumstances that we have given ourselves, just overall make us able to help us and the audience feel that our work is as creative as it can possibly be. But we are not done yet. My group and I really want to make sure that this group will resonate with those who we feel are our target market. That is exactly what we plan to do.

Next class, we will be meeting with people in our target market range, and asking them how they feel about our film opening concept. We will listen, take notes, and adjust our plan accordingly. By doing this, we feel like it will help us make the best opening possible. We want to make sure that our opening can be enjoyed by these groups of people. This is the only way that we can know for sure if we will accomplish that or not. Which, in my opinion makes it one of the most important steps of the process of making this film opening.

Cambridge Blog Post #6

 Today, me and my group talked about our inspirations for our upcoming film opening. In the horror/comedy genre, there are a ton of good movies to choose from, but we really highlighted two very famous ones today. They have gone down in history as two of the most famous horror movie comedies because of their gory kills, and on point comedy that has delighted people for many years. Those two films are: Scream and Scary Movie.

Scream 1 is considered by many to be a straight horror film. But this is where those people would be wrong. If you look deeper into the film, you would see that the film has a ton of comedic moments, and has been said to be a parody itself of the gritty slashers that came before it. The movie, and especially its later entries in the franchise, never took itself seriously at all. Sure it would have scary moments, but those moments and tension would often be followed up by a joke or some one-liner. The film knows what it is, and does not try to be anything more or less. I think the reason why it has remained so classic to this day, is because of what it accomplished for the genre overall. This is why me and my group would love to take the spirit of our film and base it off this. Not in a copying the plot sort of way, but in tone and structure perhaps. We do not want anyone to feel as if our film rips anything off, or is a complete homage to these two films. It is not.

Scary movie is a film that is not only a parody of Scream, but of almost every other horror movie that came before it. It has absurdist humor sprinkled all throughout it, and does not take itself seriously one bit. Sure, there may be kills, but they are always done in a comedic way that makes you laugh out loud. The franchise is famous for what it did for the parody genre, because while it is funny, it is also extremely smart in the way that it portrays movie characters so perfectly. It is because of the absurdity that the film brings to horror, that me and my group felt that we also wanted to emulate this type of films tone as well. If we do it right, we feel like we can make something that is truly special and different from anything that people have seen before. I think on Tuesday, when my group is able to get back to work, we will start coming up with the first plot details of the film. I know that that is going to be very enjoyable to come up with.