Final Production

 The Series of Blackmail Murders Final Video

FINALLY!!! It's been a long time coming and after many obstacles our video is done. I hope you enjoy!!! 

Creative Critical Reflection

 

Postproduction- Editing

 Finally, we made it to the last stage-Editing. Me and my group knew that we would encounter some challenges and difficulties, but we didn't encounter as much as we thought.

Postproduction

Technology

Initially, we were suppose to use a software named Premier Pro that was installed into our school's computer. But, when it time to begin editing the software was not working and he had to pick another software to use for our editing. Luckily, we did research on other editing software. We began using WeVideo. WeVideo was very user friendly. Me and my group members didn't have to watch YouTube tutorials because we used the software because we used the software before for a music video in December. We didn't run into much problems with WeVideo. I learned that technology is easy to work with once you figure it out.

Conventions

In my genre, the titling looks pretty much the same. The titling consists of 3 colors- Red, Black, and White. If white is used then it is most likely the colors of the letters. We used red and black in our title. We didn't use much transitions and effects in our opening scene. We used a transition twice. We used a dip to black transition in between a couple shots to enhance the meaning and mood in the opening scene.

Sound

• We need to add a voiceover to one of our shots- We'll do this by recording a voice recording on a phone and then uploading it to the editing software and inputting it to the certain shot 
• Also, we need to add instrumental music to the beginning of our scene and the end of our scene to create a additional meaning and mood- The editing software WeVideo has a plethora of instrumental music that could be added easily.

Process

The editing process began at the end of March. The shots that we initially shot we put them together, it took us a week to add everything required and tey to make it perfect. When we thought that we were finished editing we were told that we made a mistake with our costuming and we had to re-film all our shots. This put us way behind in editing and we became nervous that we weren't going to make the deadline. We re-filmed all our shots on April 2. Soon after finishing our shots that's when we began editing. Once we returned to school from spring break we had to add a few things and tweak a few things. WeVideo is a very easy and self explanatory so in both times we had to edit it didn't us that long.

Production

Production

Usage of Technology

The technology that I used during this process is my phone. I used an iPhone 11 to record dialogue and shots. No other technology was needed to do what was needed. No other technology was used so I didn't learn how to use any other technology. I didn't use any YouTube tutorials or instructions, recording on my phone was self explanatory and didn't require much steps.

Filming

 Me and my group started filming on February 23,2022. Initially, we used the hallway and a green screen room in our school but no matter how much we tried to improvise with the green screen, it was not working out in our favor. There was many distractions and if I'm being honest we had a lot of bloopers. It took us a long time to get a decent shot made. We had all our shots and we did a rough draft edit and the background was not looking good. So, we had to come up with an idea to do all of our shots over again. A lightbulb went off in my head. My mom's office has a similar layout of a police station and their conference room can be used as an interrogation room. We were over the filming period we were given so we had to film the shots all in one day. On March 12,2022, me and my group met up at my mom's office and filmed all of our shots in under 2 hours. There was less distractions and we were dedicated due to the fact that we knew we were running out of time and didn't have much time left. During the filming, we decided to change up the lines in the dialogue and change the type of shots.

Learning Experiences

As the director, I made a huge mistake I'm glad that my teacher caught it. Initially, I was recording the video in portrait. When me and group thought we were done and went to our teacher for review she told us that our video had to be filmed in landscape. We had to re-film all our shots. I'm glad that this happened because we were initially filming in a green screen room but it did not go as well as we thought. We had to change filming locations. We changed to an office building and used their conference room as the interrogation room.

Changes and Revisions

We didn't make much changes and revisions but we changed some of the angles for our shots and during filming Destiny and Dana improvised so their dialogue is not exactly like the script.

Bloopers

Preproduction

 

Location

My group and I have been looking for different locations to record our opening scene. The setting of our opening scene is inside a police station and a interrogation room. We are planning to use our school as the primary location. The school office and the classroom is where we will be filming around the school. 

Actors

In our opening scene, me and my group members will be the main characters. Destiny would act as the detective and Dana will act as Dalia. My voice would be used as a character named Serena.. My classmates will serves as extras if needed. Considerations that I will have to make for scheduling and preparing the actors is creating a schedule that works good for everyone.

Film

Our film is a horror thriller so we have to use different techniques to meet the genre requirements. Our opening scene will make the audience want to know what's coming next. The film will give off a breathtaking and exhilarating vibe. We will use instrumental music during the opening scene to create suspense. I would use royalty free music to avoid copyright. During the opening scene, we will record dialogue. The dialogue will be between Dalia and the detectives and police officers among themselves. The sound will be recorded in-camera.

Storyboard

Shooting Schedule 

We added extra days for flaws and for perfections

Sound

During production we will record dialogue. When we go to edit and the dialogue is not heard in the original video we would add a voice over. During the shots, we would add background music to enhance the mood and feeling in the opening scene.

Technology

To record the opening scene, I will use my phone to record the whole opening scene. The phone that I'm planning to use is an iPhone 11.

Our Final Project

 My Final Project 

Title and Genre of my Final Project

The title of my final project is The Series of Blackmail Murders. The genre will be a crime thriller due to it having to deal with sociopaths and murders. This type of movie will attract teens, young adult, and adults of all genders.

The Film Synopsis

The movie that me and my group are creating is a crime thriller. The movie follows the life of Dalia after she is released from the mental hospital after spending 3 years in it. All of sudden, since her release there has been murders popping around the town of Carrington. When the police start to investigate the murders, they find that Dalia is near the scene minutes before every murder. Dalia is called in for questioning. She denies it but she knows that the town of Carrington knows about her past and is not forgiving. The detectives look more into the murders and found another person that is near the scenes but closer to the time of the murders. They find out it was Serena, Dalia's ex-best friend that was seeking revenge on her.

Opinion on Final Project

I think that this project will challenge my creativity and will be fun. I know that this project will require a lot of work and attention despite me having fun. This project will teach me not to procrastinate due to us being on a tight schedule and not having any room for extensions.

Research

During our research, we looked up different movies in our genre. We looked at those movies opening sequences and looked for similarities and differences. Looking up those movie opening sequences showed me what our opening sequence should consist of. I also looked at script writing and production companies that will be perfect for our final project. 

Production Company for Final Project

Many production companies specialize in crime thrillers. Some are Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, Hammer Film Productions, Blinding Edge Productions, Blumhouse Productions, The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films, etc. If I had to choose one on these production companies to produce my film, I would choose Warner Bros. The reason why I would choose Warner Bros. is because Warner Bros. is a popular production company and they produce various genres of different films. My choice of Warner Bros. would enhance the amount of audience I get for my film  since Warner Bros. is such a large and known production company.

Exhibition

My film will be exhibited on different streaming services. This is another way for my movie to make profit after being released in theaters.

 

Case Study

Black and Blue

History/ Target Audience

In August of 2017, Screen Gems received a script from Peter A. Rowling and Sean Sorensen would produce it under his Royal Viking Entertainment. In 2018, it was announced that Deon Taylor would be directing the movie. The first casting of the movie was Naomie Harris who played Alicia West. The movie was first named Exposure and then later retitled Black and Blue. Tyrese Gibson, Nafessa Williams, and other actors were casted in January of 2019. Black and Blue target audience is African Americans from the ages of 18. The reason why the target audience is for African Americans because the movie is about a African American woman on the police force in New Orleans, which is a predominantly African American city. The film encourages conversation about police brutality, corrupt police officers and how African American communities are over- watched the police and law enforcement. The movie is Rated R, that's why the target age is 18 and older

Production

Filming began January 16, 2019 and concluded on February 28, 2019. The movie was shot with CineAlta cameras and Sony smartphones. They filmed around New Orleans. Some places in New Orleans that they filmed at is the Degaulle Manor Housing Projects, Algiers (New Orleans), and Evergreen Supermarket. Black and Blue is produced by Sean Sorensen. The production companies that contributed to the making of the movie are Screen Gems, Royal Viking Entertainment, and Hidden Empire Film Group

Distribution 

Black and Blue came out in theaters on October 25 of 2019. As that date was coming close, the actors did many interviews to promote the movie. In those interviews, they explained the importance of the movie and why it made sense releasing it in the current times we are in. Many posters were made with different actors to promote the movie. Also, various of trailers were released to give people an idea of what the movie was about. Black and Blue had a special premiere on October 23, 2019 in Atlanta. Many celebrities were in attendance to support the movie that represents what really happens in African American communities around the world and how corrupt law enforcement can be in the world. All of these things were to make sure that the movie catches the attention of the intended audience. 

Marketing

Once Black and Blue left the theaters, it was also released on streaming services. Those streaming services are Hulu, Sling TV, Vudu, Prime Video, and Apple TV. This is how Black and Blue makes money even after it leaves theaters and the box office sales are final. The total money that Black and Blue made from DvDs is about 2.6 million.

Cross-media convergence and energy

This movie did not sell merchandise to promote the movie. Songs that were made for the movie, that are streamed also benefit the movie when they are streamed.