Monday, January 27, 2020
Art of the Title Class Activity
Today in class we analyzed some title sequences from Artofthetitle.com. I thought the Goodfellas intro was clever because the opening credits zoomed into the screen from the side, and the sound of a car passing went along with it. This gave the effect that the credits were cars coming into view and then driving off, which I thought was well done. Scorsese commented that he got the idea for the title sequence from the movie Big. We might use a sound bridge when introducing the credits like Goodfellas did, but I don't think we will be using the text effects that they did.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Target Audience Research
The target audience for this movie will be American men in their early twenties that are making average income and have a standard education. While these are not the only type of people that will enjoy this movie, we predict they will be the most abundant.
Our audience will likely have an interest in crime dramas and action movies. They might find organized crime a fascinating topic, and have a soft spot for the underdog. Anyone that has experience with overcoming obstacles might also like this film.
The criminal setting of the film makes it appealing to anyone who enjoys the mystery and thrill of underground vices. Likewise, the "rising to success" theme of the movie makes it great for anyone who likes to side with an underdog and see them achieve their goal.
Our audience will likely have an interest in crime dramas and action movies. They might find organized crime a fascinating topic, and have a soft spot for the underdog. Anyone that has experience with overcoming obstacles might also like this film.
The criminal setting of the film makes it appealing to anyone who enjoys the mystery and thrill of underground vices. Likewise, the "rising to success" theme of the movie makes it great for anyone who likes to side with an underdog and see them achieve their goal.
Feedback and Revisions
After receiving feedback on my midterm submission, my group and I have decided on a few parts of the movie the change or remove.
The most important thing that needs to be changed is the movie length. As it is, the opening is three minutes long, which is a minute over the required time. Therefore, we need to remove some scenes to shorten it and make it admissible. A scene we want to take out is the one after the phone call, where Giovanne gets in his car and drives away. It will be replaced with a quick fade out and fade in to the scene where Giovanne is pulling into the parking lot. This scene isn't important to the movie, so taking it out will not make the movie confusing, and will actually make the movie flow better.
Another problem we had was costume design. In the scenes with Daniella, she was wearing a Drug Free Youth t-shirt and an ID on a lanyard. This choice of clothing doesn't fit the typical style of a shady criminal, so we will have her wear something more representative of that stereotype.
Finally, we will edit the phone conversation so it will flow better. As it is, there are long pauses between speaking lines that make the phone call seem choppy. We will edit those pauses out to make the conversation flow like a normal phone call.
The most important thing that needs to be changed is the movie length. As it is, the opening is three minutes long, which is a minute over the required time. Therefore, we need to remove some scenes to shorten it and make it admissible. A scene we want to take out is the one after the phone call, where Giovanne gets in his car and drives away. It will be replaced with a quick fade out and fade in to the scene where Giovanne is pulling into the parking lot. This scene isn't important to the movie, so taking it out will not make the movie confusing, and will actually make the movie flow better.
Another problem we had was costume design. In the scenes with Daniella, she was wearing a Drug Free Youth t-shirt and an ID on a lanyard. This choice of clothing doesn't fit the typical style of a shady criminal, so we will have her wear something more representative of that stereotype.
Finally, we will edit the phone conversation so it will flow better. As it is, there are long pauses between speaking lines that make the phone call seem choppy. We will edit those pauses out to make the conversation flow like a normal phone call.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Midterm Submission
Our movie The Rise is about an inexperienced candy dealer who realizes, through a confrontation with a professional dealer, that he has a lot of obstacles ahead of him if he ever hopes to make it big in the business. We decided to film the entire opening at night because the darkness of the movie mirrors the fact that Giovanne is figuratively "in the dark" when it comes to candy dealing knowledge. It also illustrates the shady nature of the candy dealing that Giovanne is taking part in.
Another choice we made when filming was to not use the camera flashlight during the movie. Although it would have made the characters' faces more visible, we favored the streetlight's shadow-casting light over the direct and harsh light of the camera. The camera light also made the shots look less authentic because the source of the light is not a part of the film's universe.
Another consideration we made when filming was to include a series of jump cuts of Giovanne waiting impatiently for his customer to show up. The point of the jump cuts was to create a feeling of time passing without having to show that time in its entirety.
Finally, we used a stylish red font as our title. The red is meant to signify blood, as bloodshed is a consequence of candy dealing that Giovanne will likely face. The style of the font is meant to give an Italian mob feel like the Godfather. We liked the idea of having Italian names and music because candy dealing could be associated with mob activities, and we wanted the font to mimic that feel.
https://youtu.be/edNiF-6Tiy0
Another choice we made when filming was to not use the camera flashlight during the movie. Although it would have made the characters' faces more visible, we favored the streetlight's shadow-casting light over the direct and harsh light of the camera. The camera light also made the shots look less authentic because the source of the light is not a part of the film's universe.
Another consideration we made when filming was to include a series of jump cuts of Giovanne waiting impatiently for his customer to show up. The point of the jump cuts was to create a feeling of time passing without having to show that time in its entirety.
Finally, we used a stylish red font as our title. The red is meant to signify blood, as bloodshed is a consequence of candy dealing that Giovanne will likely face. The style of the font is meant to give an Italian mob feel like the Godfather. We liked the idea of having Italian names and music because candy dealing could be associated with mob activities, and we wanted the font to mimic that feel.
https://youtu.be/edNiF-6Tiy0
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Schedule Filming
We will be filming for the first time on December 8th, and plan to get all of the phone call, basketball court, and parking lot scenes done that night. We will re-shoot the next time we are all available if it is necessary.
Casting
My character is Giovane Ragazzo, an amateur candy dealer looking to make a living by selling candy to buyers. He is a nervous guy who has little experience in selling candy and has much to learn if he ever expects to become a kingpin. I will play his part because my short stature will make me seem less intimidating in the movie and make me look younger and less experienced.
Scout Locations
My group member Connor and I scouted locations on November 2nd.
STC parking lot looked like a nice area to film the parking lot scene because of how big and empty it was, but it was too public in our opinion. We therefore decided against filming here.
Our next locations was the parking lot at Urfer Park. This area was more secluded than STC, but lacked enough light for us to film the night scenes.
Red Bug Slough was a better choice than Urfer and STC, because of its seclusion and presence of a street light. However, it was too close to other peoples' houses, so we decided against filming here as to not disturb them.
Our favorite spot was Colonial Oaks park because of its well-lit basketball court. We decided this would be the best spot for us to film because of its ample light sources and its privacy from main roads.
STC parking lot looked like a nice area to film the parking lot scene because of how big and empty it was, but it was too public in our opinion. We therefore decided against filming here.
Our next locations was the parking lot at Urfer Park. This area was more secluded than STC, but lacked enough light for us to film the night scenes.
Red Bug Slough was a better choice than Urfer and STC, because of its seclusion and presence of a street light. However, it was too close to other peoples' houses, so we decided against filming here as to not disturb them.
Our favorite spot was Colonial Oaks park because of its well-lit basketball court. We decided this would be the best spot for us to film because of its ample light sources and its privacy from main roads.
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