CCR #1 Question Research Blog Post

    In the production of our project, we have made multiple creative decisions as well as done huge amounts of research towards our genre. In the analysis of the suspense/thriller category, we have been able to learn the usual conventions and how they are utilized in movies and film projects overall.

    With my group being asked the Creative Critical Reflection question "How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues," we have the knowledge to adequately answer it.

    For our project, we wanted to make an opening that would follow the genre conventions and reveal them in a engaging and suspenseful way. The main aspects that we wanted to follow was that an unsuspecting individual would commit murder in cold blood against someone who was rude or threatening towards him. In our story, we were able to achieve that, with Asher wanting revenge against Austin for stealing his paper. Me and my group had found this genre convention from films such as "The Equalizer," with the main character, played by Denzel Washington, having a secret hidden and deadly personality. With this genre convention, we were able to create a strong story, with a narrative surrounding a meek individual with a dark, hidden personality.

    Other genre conventions such as a stronger and more intelligent antagonist facing off against a weaker protagonist had been used both ways in our opening. With Austin being the main antagonist in our piece, he would be physically dominant and stronger compared to Asher. However, Asher is more intelligent than Austin and more precise and hidden with his actions. This had contrasted with original conventions because it would not only surprise the audience of Asher's intentions, but also allow a hidden and secret character to be created.

    Additionally, we created a story first about a crime committed in order to help draw the audience into our overall narrative, allowing us to build off of that pivotal moment. This is a useful convention in the genre because it provides vital information fast and it proceeds to build upon for the rest of its duration. This tactic is used in films such as Se7en, where the film starts out with an investigation of a murder scene, with the murder being supported by events later in the plot. With this tactic, our audience would be able to understand Asher's murder of Austin further as the story progresses.

    We wanted to represent Asher in a weaker light, which was accentuated by his white clothing, in order to paint him as a more pure character. This would help to further surprise the audience with his cold blooded murder of Austin later in the opening. We also tried to make out Austin to be a rude and belligerent character in order to contrast with Asher, making it seem unlikely that they would ever physically be against each other. With this representation, our audience will still see usual genre conventions of the film's category, but will experience differences in relation to the underlying story.

    I believe that with our creative choices we will be to accurately depict our characters in a new and meaningful light that attracts audiences. With our decisions relating to genre conventions, we have created a plot line that provides both the usual and unexpected characters of the story. In doing this, we create a strong opening that will heighten our project to the highest quality possible.

Wenk, R., Sloan, M., and Lindheim, R. (2014, September 24). The Equalizer. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455944/

IMDb. (1995, September 22). Se7en. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/

Obstacles/Issues Production Blog Post

    Throughout our project, me and my group have encountered a multitude of issues during our editing and our filming process, both being a hinderance on the efficiency of our production.

    For filming, we had faced multiple issues from our surroundings. To be specific, because we were filming on a park and a playground, the sound of children would be made apparent in our footage. This, in addition to the loud noises from the nearby cars, had been a worrying aspect of our filming process and was very noticeable in some clips. However, in the overall editing process, we were able to use footage that were free of these background noises, allowing us to have strong scenes to support our stories.

    

    Additionally, because the costume of Jean Paul's Character Asher requires him to wear both long pants and a hoodie, he became extremely tired due to the heat outside, making his costume design and time for filming a flaw in our production process. Even though he was still able to conduct his lines in a strong manner to support our narrative, that aspect is something that me and my group will try to prevent for future activities.

 

    We also had an issue with filming the scenes at our house. This was because every time we had tried to film the scene, we would find another issue with it. For example, when my character, Asher, would enter the house, if he were to close the door immediately, it would leave Jean Paul and Vanessa outside while they are filming. Additionally, we had almost achieved a perfect take if it was not for the light accidentally in frame. Issues such as this prolonged our overall filming process, causing us to spend more time trying to make sure we had the best take possible.

    We had also some trouble editing the opening. I previously mentioned in my last blog post that there were little pieces of a microphone or piece of equipment in the frame. In addition to that, camera angles would sometimes be crooked, leading to the scene looking more unprofessional. Despite this being a setback, due to the features on my editing software, we were able to fix the sequences to make them more professional for our project. 

    However, even though we had faced these problems, I believe we have been able to create an overall strong opening that would allow us to receive a high score. Through these issues, I believe that our collective knowledge on productions have increased significantly, allowing us to be better prepared for projects such as this in the future. As we continue editing, although we will most likely experience further issues, we will make sure to adequately deal with them in order to create the best opening possible.

Editing Process Blog Post #1

    For our group's first half of editing the project, we first had to organize our footage and the audio that we wanted to utilize in our production.

    We started off by importing our footage into the project. Before we dove into the contents of our footage though, I had wanted to find the audio that would be alongside our scenes so we could get an early understanding on how the scene would look. So, by searching on the site Pixabay, we had found two tense sequences of music that would be used for two purposes. The DELOSound tense music would be used for the first section of the opening at the park, with the Tunetank tense music then transitioning to the title card sequence along with the production company credit. I believe that with these two vital resources, our project will be at a higher quality as a result because of the intense sound that they add to our scenes.

    Me and my group then tried to decide on what exactly the color of our footage would be. With our editing software, Premiere Pro, allowing for different colorations of shots put into it, we could change the tint, lighting, and color of a shot to match what we want it to reflect creatively. We had eventually decided on a tint of 50% as well as the "SL CLEAN FUJI B SOFT," from the lumetri color features.

    Now, because we are trying to create a suspenseful opening, we decided on changing the audio in certain sections in order to accentuate the effect we are trying to go for in our production. As shown in the picture below, right before Austin is about to scare Asher, the audio dips right before it heightens alongside the scare of Asher. In this way, the interruption of the story will shock both Asher and the audience.

    We have also tried to identify any problems with the footage by analyzing it extensively. For example, if there were to be an unaligned angle or a shot featuring an item or piece of equipment that wasn't meant to be shown, it would be modified in order to make the piece more professionaL.

    However, even though we have been able to make a multitude of creative decisions, I must admit that we have been unable to make it as far as previously expected for our first editing process blog post. This is primarily due to the size of the footage we have gathered, causing us to have delays by moving through the vast amount of resources we have obtained.

    In spite of this, I do believe that in the time we have currently edited, the project is looking strong and will be able to have all of the added features we wanted to put in the post-production process. This will allow us to have a higher quality opening that we are all proud of and will give us a high score.

Pixabay. (2026). Pixabay.com. https://pixabay.com/music/search/tense%20music/

Group Meeting #2 Reflection Post

Group Meeting #2 Summary

    For the 2nd group meeting, we went over our progress on all of our projects, with extremely good progress made by most parties and advice helping to aid their overall development.

    For Amanda's story called "Mind Over Matter," its genre was a sports/coming of age film, with the main character being a taekwondo athlete that breaks her ankle while training. In this story, she had used unique camera and editing techniques in order to accurately portray her story. For example, in showing the athlete actually break her ankle, she had reversed the footage of her stepping on her foot in an awkward way. By doing this, she was able to maintain the intended effect she had in her story while not actually causing physical injury to herself. Later in her story, when she was expressing her sadness about not being able to participate in taekwondo for a while, she would have her character interact with her father. During this sequence, it would help to set up the later plot and her existing relationships within her story. The final shot would be of her throwing her stuffed animal to close the door that her father forget to. However, I had suggested that her final shot shows Amanda through the cracked door, helping to show the character as stuck and sad. She had liked this idea so much that she wanted to record the end of her footage again to obtain the shot. 

    In this meeting, I was also able to meet again with Jade, who had been able to more heavily define her character and the events of the story. To be specific, she had meticulously planned makeup and costume designs in order to accentuate the story elements she was trying to create. Additionally, in the previous meeting, I had pointed out that she should make sure to create a strong set in order to make sure her footage would not have to be accommodated to the limitations of the set. In doing this, she ended up creating a massive set, with an entire room being dedicated towards showing the confined quarters her main character was limited to. In providing this vital advice, her project was able to increase in quality because of her freedom in filming on her own set.

    We also discussed with Luke's project, which is about an antisocial kid named Will who is asked by his friend Derek to hang out with him. In this sequence, he would have establishing shots of his room and help set up his personality through his surroundings. With him also being apart of the CBTV classes at school, he will be able to accurately execute when editing his project, allowing his creative thinking to be reflected in his work. Further in the project, it is discovered that Derek was waiting outside of Will's house, causing him to be upset by his rejection to hang out. I believed this to be an amazing plot twist, with it being unexpected by the viewer, causing further engagement in the content.

    Through this meeting, not only was I able to receive confirmation on my creative choices, but I was also able to aid others and see the results of my suggestions. This overall made our projects better, with this experience being a vital one to increasing of quality of our productions.

Set Design Creation Blog Post

    As I mentioned in my previous blog post on our shooting process, we had filmed in two major locations, the park and my house. In order to accurately capture our story, we had to perfectly set up our settings in order to reflect the emotion felt in that scene.

    For our initial park scene, we had set up our pencil pouch and school supplies in an organized format. This was to reflect Asher's organized personality and how he had tried to reflect it in an area different to his house. This setup of equipment would eventually become a bit more disorganized due to Asher's confrontation with Austin, but still remained in its proper places overall. I believe that with these subtle factors, our film increased in quality and in continuity, not only mentioning Asher's obsession with organization when it is essential to the plot.

    The main area that needed focus was at my house. With this being Asher's main area and not an outdoor setting, we would have to heavily focus on the setting elements of the tracking sequence. We managed this through moving my original items on my desk and placing a few school supplies onto it. In this way, the area overall looked more professional and organized, which would reflect Asher's personality.

    However, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, because of Vanessa's observations, we agreed that after Asher enters the room and gets settled, there should be a dedicated series of closeups with Asher pulling out his school equipment. This would create substance for our opening that would not only act as a transition to the end of our project, but also help to set up a narrative that would be built up later in the story.

    Through the careful manipulation of the environments we were filming, the film looked higher in quality as a result, maintaining continuity as well as reoccurring themes. With this, we managed to achieve our main objectives with the project as well as make something that we are proud of because of our effort with it.

Shooting Process Blog Post

    Today, we finished our filming for our project. In all, I believe that it was a successful day of filming because we were accurately able to execute our objectives while increasing our original expectations from filming.

    In this picture we are preparing for our first scenes. With me and John Paul playing the main characters, Vanessa had to take charge of obtaining the footage as well as the audio. She managed to do this through the camera and audio equipment I borrowed from my CBTV class, which was a key asset in increasing the quality of our project. With its presence, Vanessa was able to detect audio issues as well as problems with lighting, making our footage better fit the image of what we wanted it to be. 

    When we initially arrived at the park, we saw that almost all of the tables were occupied, but we had managed to secure a table that was not only shaded but had also a pathway connected to it. This allowed us to maintain our previous storyboard plan without adjusting it to fit our current circumstances. 

    In the picture above, John Paul and Vanessa were discussing the dialogue scenes that were supposed to go on between me and him. We had been able to film our introductory and establishing scenes extremely well, doing multiple takes to ensure that we would have the best possible footage for our project. The problem was that when me and John Paul tried to go over our lines, we would either mess up or break character, which inevitably prolonged our filming process. Although the effects of this were ultimately limited, for the future, I will try to make sure to practice the lines for a script more to ensure that I can say it in the manner needed for the story.

    For the picture above, we were deciding how to film the later stages of the dialogue scenes, with the main buildup of our story occurring here. We were able to execute our ideas extremely well, and even though it had taken multiple takes to get right, I believe that it we were still able to obtain good footage. 

    The sequences after were focused on me because it revolved around Asher and his reactions to Austin's stealing of his work. So with the help of Vanessa and John Paul, we were able to make those sequences just as strong as our previous dialogue scenes.

    After my scenes, we then finished filming the climax of our opening, which was the murder of Austin by Asher. We decided to shoot the murder of Austin in one take, with Asher running from his table to stab Austin in the neck. Now, in the picture above, we would film our final scenes at the park, with the Hershey's strawberry meant to represent blood. We would use this resource by having a dedicated series of shots portraying me looking at Austin with the murder weapon and scene covered with blood.

    

    Then, for our final shots, we went back to my house where we would film our dedicated tracking shot. In this picture, we were deciding how we should organize my room in order to capture the character of Austin. We also debated on how we should capture the tracking shot, because it would involve me entering my house and having to close the door behind me. With Vanessa and John Paul following behind me, this would be an issue.  However, after a consistent amount of attempts, we had managed to find a pattern that correctly portrayed our ideas. This also fit our inspiration from the film "1917," which had made our project stronger by revolving around a central shot type for a major transitioning scene.

    In this picture, John Paul is pointing the camera at my face because it would be the transition between the park eye match and the eye match of Asher entering his house. This would not only transition our scenes in a secure manner, but also set up our tracking shot into Asher's house. Although this had taken a multitude of tries, we were able to accomplish our goals with the tracking shot, making for an extremely strong ending sequence.

    However, Vanessa brought up an interesting point that it would not be natural for all of the school supplies already be set up for Asher. So when Asher entered his room, we decided to then have an individual sequence focusing on his organization of his supplies. We believe that this made the whole opening stronger as a whole, with a narrative beginning to be build around Asher as the story progresses overall.

    Throughout the production, we also consistently checked our footage and our equipment to ensure we not only had the footage, but that it was of a high quality. In doing this, we managed to ultimately create a very secure series of shots, allowing for a strong stockpile of footage to use in our editing process for next week.

    

Color Schemes Planning Blog Post

Color Schemes Planning

What is it and how is it used in film?

    In the film industry, there are a multitude of different factors that impact the direct quality of a movie or production. In my previous research post, I had discussed the different lighting techniques that are used in films in order to convey their meaning. So, in order to heighten my knowledge of the visual aspects of films, I will be researching color schemes for this specific post, focusing on their usage and their overall importance. 

    For color schemes, they are used in movies in order to help portray an underlying theme or trait of a character or event in its plot. In doing this, the production itself is able to not only have a higher quality added to it, but also displays unique and clever creative decisions made by its creators.

    

    These ideas are supported by Studio Binder's article about the different color schemes used in the film industry. In this article, we are shown the different colors that are used for every specific feeling or environment present in a plot. For example, in the picture below, we are shown different and bright environments, which is meant to support a theme of friendliness and warmth.

    Additionally, with this picture, you can see that for color in a film, there are many different and applicable aspects of it. To be specific, in a color pallet, it is divided between two major areas, cooler and warmer colors. In these two categories, the hotter colors are meant to represent energy and light in a film while the colder colors symbolize calmness and darkness. 

    Furthermore, there are other, different factors applicable to color, such as the saturation, which is the intensity of the color, and the brightness, which is the lightness or darkness of a color. With the brightness and saturation aspects of a scene brought into focus, it can change the entire meaning of the color used, being utilized overall for the creator's advantage.

    Through the various different color tools used in films, they are also able to establish themes or atmospheres highly associated with the film. For instance, for the film "Mad Max: Fury Road," the accentuated colors and saturation present allowed for the chaos and action of the film to be exemplified. These factors aided the film in engaging audiences, helping it to become a very popular franchise among viewers.

    We can also see the different color choices used for success in productions such as "Joker." In this film, a gritty, depressing atmosphere is created and needed for its main character, who is struggling with severe mental health problems. This usage of color for the depressing atmosphere helps to contrast with the main character, Joker, as shown in the picture below. We can clearly see that he is meant to be an outcast and fundamentally different from his surroundings, which is shown in the movie poster and throughout the film entirely.

    I believe that with all of this information, me and my group will be able to increase the quality of our production using these different elements. For example, when we are filming inside of my house, I will make sure to utilize factors such as saturation and brightness on my lighting equipment to help exemplify what we are trying to portray in the scene. Additionally, in the editing software, we will make sure that our lighting and colors represent what we want for the scene, making it fit the narrative we are trying to create.

    Also, when we film outside for our project, we can use specific locations at the park in order to coordinate with the color and underlying narrative we are trying to aim for. That way, we will have both the setting and editing to our advantage, making our project stronger in the process. For example, when we are filming at a table at the park, we could apply a darker color for the calmer scenes. Then, when the tension culminates in Asher's murder of Austin, we could portray the table that previously had cooler colors with lighter and more saturated colors. In this way, the atmosphere and props of the setting change along with our plot, increasing the quality of the film and engaging viewers further.

    I also know that these ideas are used in the films mentioned before and contributed highly to their success. I do acknowledge that with this information, I will be able to make my set and atmosphere reflect more on what is happening in my plot. In this way, we will be able to use our resources to their highest degree, which will be reflected in our end product.

    Overall, I believe that through the usage of these resources and knowledge, me and my group will benefit heavily because of it. Not only will we be able to use my previous lighting research to provide a basis of visual quality, but then build upon it with the different color scheme options present. This will heighten me and my group's project to its highest potential, making our grade for the assignment overall as strong as possible.

Funeri, F. (2022, August 23). Color Schemes in Filmmaking. The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/color-schemes-in-filmmaking/

Risk, M. (2020, July 27). How to Use Color in Film: 50+ Examples of Movie Color Palettes. StudioBinder; StudioBinder. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/

Miller, G. (2015). Mad Max: Fury Road. Www.imdb.com.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392190/

Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, October 23). Joker (2019 film). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joker_%282019_film%29

Production Company Creation Blog Post

    When me and my group were deciding on what should be our production company logo, it was a conversation that had spanned across the entire process of our production.

    Throughout our production, we had been trying to decide what our production company name should be. With the other more important aspects of our project such as the script and technical elements needing decisive action, we could not fully devote our time to deciding its name until now.

    Our plan for creating the name of our production company had been similar to that of creating the overall name of our project. To be specific, me and my group had wanted for both our title and production company names to have a hidden meaning or a smart reference. We had originally attempted this by having a clever association to our project, making the name more meaningful. However, we were unable to find a name for both of these objectives that would have an underlying meaning for our project. 

    Even though this was an issue, we were able to find our production company name because of my own personal experience with filmmaking. In my free time when I was younger, I had made my own movie trailers and projects with my phone, which had been my original reason for wanting to pursue media and film creation. In those projects, I used my last name, which is Briggs, and a smaller version of my original "Brennan Incorporated Worldwide." What resulted was the name "Briggs Productions," along with the usage of glasses that look identical to the ones I wear often to school. With these details surrounding our production company, we were able to create a strong name that had existing substance and reasoning behind it.

    

Project Storyboard Blog Post Revision

    For me and my group's project, as I had explained before in my "Character Development Blog Post," we have decided to change the plot of our story. 

    To be specific, we will have both Asher and Austin now working on a project together, with Austin never showing up to help with its development. Then, after arriving and scaring Asher in the process, he will crudely take the work away from him to turn in as his own, causing Asher to become extremely upset. Then, in his rage, Asher will murder Austin in cold blood just like in our previous plot. After the murder sequence that would be interrupted by our title sequence, we would then transition to Asher's house. Then, as explained in our "Mise-En-Scene Blog Post #1," we would have a tracking shot of Asher walking to his room, which is where our overall opening would finally end.

    I believe that because Mrs. Stoklosa had pointed out flaws in our previous story, the revisions that we have now made have strengthened our project in general. With these new actions we will take for our project, the quality of our piece will be increased because of it. 

Here are the pictures from our new storyboard: 

Project Audio Blog Post

 

    In my project, me and my group had to make a multitude of creative choices about its production, including its audio aspects.

    

    To be specific, we would focus specifically on 3 major auditory aspects, the environment, the tense buildup, and the voices of the character.

    For the environmental sounds, me and my group have decided to record the sounds of our chosen sets before we begin our initial filming. In doing this, we will have a surplus of audio to use in our editing process, allowing us to remove any background noises that would ruin the audio of our opening.

    Then, for the buildup of scenes, we are hoping to use harsh and tense sound clips from online copyright free databases in order to help portray the feeling of the scene that we want. So, specifically for the buildup to the murder of Austin, we will be using those sound clips in order to accurately portray the intensity of the scene in that moment.

    Additionally, we will record our audio on site when it is possible and no outside elements are around. If there are any possible background noises that we do not wish to include, because of our previous recording of background noise, we can then record a voiceover. In this way, we will be able to completely control the audio elements of our story and be able to use in the moment acting along with post-production management to make our story come to life.

    For our project specifically, because I am also apart of my school's video production class, I have access to the high tech equipment as part of the program. This will allow me to also access the professional audio equipment such as the microphone which is part of the larger video recording camera and headphone set.

    I believe that with this equipment and plan to couple it, me and my group's project will be able to have an advantage in making a strong opening, with us having a firm and concise plan backed up by professional equipment used in the film industry.

Bosch, R. (2023, April 13). Types of Microphone - Aulart. Aulart.https://www.aulart.com/blog/types-of-microphone/?srsltid=AfmBOor5WfaKmcjwydGUZFyuzqmFlldRmDnC4EnNyKwZcezrglzooAwL

Form Factor Flashback: Shoulder Mount Panasonic AG-AC8 Review. (2024, March 29). Videomaker. https://www.videomaker.com/article/c5/17072-form-factor-flashback-shoulder-mount-panasonic-ag-ac8-review/

Top 5 best headphones to use when recording on an external audio device / Blog / Klover Products. (2023). Kloverproducts.com. https://www.kloverproducts.com/blog/top-5-best-headphones-to-use-when-recording-on-an-external-audio-device

Mise-En-Scene Blog Post #2

    Previously, in my last blog post, I had discussed the creative costume and set decisions for my project. However, now for this second blog post, I will be focusing on the lighting and prop decisions me and my group made for the opening. I believe that with this crucial information, me and my group will be able to heighten the quality of our project significantly while engaging our viewers in the process.

Lighting Elements:

    For our project, we had wanted to give the main part of the opening at the park a cool tone and tint. We will be able to achieve this because in our editing software, we will have the ability to edit the color of footage. In this way, we would be able to use both the technology of the program as well as the sunlight to make the lighting for the segment as perfect as possible.

    When Asher enters his house, we will use the same tools in the software to create a more darker, prison like atmosphere for Asher. This would allow for the underlying theme that he feels trapped and stuck in his life, indicating that something is wrong.

Prop Elements:

    Now, for the specific props we want to use, we will have two main usages of props. To be precise, we will use it to for the tracking shot of Asher entering his room and the buildup to the murder of Austin.

    For the tracking shot of Asher, when he enters his room, we will accentuate his obsession with organization by having items in his room in perfect order. As shown in the picture below, we will use items such as pencils and other objects in the room as an underlying element to bolster the idea that he needs logical management of his life.

    For the buildup to Austin's death, we will specifically use a wooden pencil, which is the murder weapon, and the pencil sharpener, which would help to portray the tension building up. I thought that specifically, we would use an pencil sharpener for the creation of pressure. With the usage of these two items, they will work together to help create an underlying message that something is going to happen that will shift the plot. In using this creative decision, our viewers will be more engaged as well as revealed more of our plot in the process.

    I believe that with all of our elements, specifically our costume, lighting, prop, and set choices, our opening will be positively affected from it. We will then be able to have a higher grade on our project in addition to executing our original ideas when discussing the premise for our core plot.

Staedtler Double Hole Pencil Sharpener for Standard and Large Pencils. (2026). Artist and Craftsman Supply. https://artistcraftsman.com/drawing/pencils/staedtler-double-hole-pencil-sharpener-for-standard-and-large-pencils/?srsltid=AfmBOor-a_jKpGGV5H0jlqX4zJpq1Eg49lwftFpF_RJ8Lm0puSpkyG5O

Easy. (2024). Easy Line Wooden Pencil HB. Bayan EShop. https://bayan-eshop.com/products/easy-line-wooden-pencil-hb

Mise-En-Scene Blog Post #1

 

    Over these two Mise-En-Scene blog posts, I will be talking about the costumes, set, lighting, and prop choices for our opening. However, for this first blog post, I will be focusing on the costume and set choices for our overall project.

    I believe that with me and my group's creative decisions, we will be able to not only fulfill the requirements of the project, but also be able to accentuate the elements and characters of our opening. In doing this, our short film will be able to more thoroughly connect with our viewer by having specific artistic choices that speak to and are realized by the audience.

Costume Elements:

    With our project only focusing on two specific characters, we have decided to let their outfits display the nature and the differences between the two.

    For Asher, we decided to make his costume more reserved and normal. This would be done through the use of casual t-shirts and shorts, which would provide a baseline for his normal and casual personality. We had decided on this perceived boring costume design because it would help to shock the audience when Asher's true character is realized. To be specific, with Asher having violent tendencies, it would be unexpected if his character had dressed up in an average and casual manner, shocking the audience further for when he murders Austin.

    For Austin, we would then use much more diverse clothing, such as a hoodie and long pants. This would allow us to portray the character in a strong, commanding light, allowing the audience to believe that he has control over Asher. We wanted this specific design for Austin because with his more baggier clothing, he would retain the previous bully element that we had for him earlier but also make it believable that he would try to hurt or control Asher overall.

Location Elements:

    For the set aspects of our film, we decided on specifically filming at both my house and Indian Trace Park. 

    We came to this conclusion on our park because John Paul, who had known about the specifics on the park, had cited it for a very good location to film our project.

(Indian Trace Park)

    My group then decided to film at my house because we wanted to enact a tracking shot in our new script. To be specific, after the murder scene of Austin, we would show the initial title card before diving into a new sequence. As shown in the picture below, we would having a tracking shot of Asher walking from his doorway towards his room. During this, we would have him look like he is dealing with severe exhaustion and burden as he would begin the long walk to his room. We would also use props in my house to accentuate a messy atmosphere that would also explain why he is as upset as he is. In this, the feeling that he is walking through life consistently depressed and saddened would be created, allowing our film to increase in quality because of it. 

    I had originally came up with this idea because I believed that it would be a perfect transition into a new sequence of the possible film, allowing for a multitude of different pathways for our plot to take after our opening cuts off there. I was inspired by the unique style of the film "1917," which had utilized the tracking shot in order to not only show the continued emotions of the character, but also the events of the movie from his point of view. With our use of the tracking shot, I believe that it will be the best way to move towards the rest of the film while still maintaining emotion and meaning.

 

IMDb. (2019). 1917. Www.imdb.com https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8579674/

Indian Trace Park / City Parks / City of Weston, FL. (2025). Westonfl.org.https://www.westonfl.org/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/20/239

Everyday Classic Shortsleeve. (2026) Outdoorvoices.com.https://www.outdoorvoices.com/products/m-everyday-classic-shortsleeve-brilliant-white?srsltid=AfmBOoqTfSKGPYXC9D5e9T_s38_V3uTl7ehG85KkBbgNMhoqdNsjJv99

Dangerfield's / Shakopee. (2026). Dangerfieldsofshakopee.com https://dangerfieldsofshakopee.com/?e=77036297041700

Character Development Blog Post

 

    For our project, me and my group are going to try to not only give our characters a reasonable character progression but not overextend our two minute time limit. 

    Even though our original script had showed our plot, we were made aware of something by our teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa. She informed us that because of the cliche around the antagonist in our scene being a bully, the opening might be decreased in quality because of it. So, we had decided to still make our plot revolve around the same concept, with Austin still messing with and being mean to Asher. However, we had decided to instead portray Austin as a more belligerent, rude individual rather than being a specific bully for Asher. This would mean that Asher, in his rage, would murder Austin not because of his consistently rude actions, but because it would be the culmination of constant disrespectful treatment in his life.

    We had also wanted to make our character names Austin and Asher because it would help to set up the power dynamic between the two for the entire opening. To be specific, according to Ancestry.com, Asher is meant to a happier and more uplifting name. In contrast, Austin is meant to portray a more strong and commanding name for the individual. This contrast between happiness and strength would aid us in setting up the relationship between the two, with Austin dominating over Asher for most of the introductory sequences.

    In creating our opening, we had wanted to focus more on one single character, being Asher, and try to fully display his character which is revealed throughout the entirety of our project. In our new introduction, we had decided to make Asher wait for Austin in order to do an assignment, trying to be patient and calm in his frustration. This would set up the initial audience perception of Asher as a patient and more responsible character. 

    We would then have Austin mess with Asher and take the work that they were supposed to work on together, causing him to become more upset and straining his already patient personality set up earlier in the scene. This would help to create another visible step away from the calmness seen at the beginning of the introduction to then transition to a more controlled anger.

    

    Finally, with the final section, his violent persona previously hidden throughout our project would be revealed, which would shock the audience and encourage them to continue watching. We would then cut to a more calm sequence of Asher entering his house in an saddened and burdened manner, which would lead into a sequence that would inform the audience more about this character.

    I believe that with these new improvisations made by me and my group, we will be able to better portray our character than the last script because of Mrs. Stoklosa's valuable advice. Although we will have to spend some time rewording and moving around certain elements of our script, I believe that with these specific ideas and plans, our project overall will benefit because of it.

Origin and Meaning of First Name Austin / Search Family History on Ancestry. (2017). Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/Austin

Asher : Meaning and Origin of First Name / Search Family History on Ancestry.com. (2021). Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/Asher

Biography and Genealogy / DoD MWR Libraries. (2026). Dodmwrlibraries.org.https://www.dodmwrlibraries.org/biography-genealogy