Film Project Genre Research - Get Out (Mystery/Thriller)

The film opens to a long establishing shot of a dimly light sidewalk at night with crickets chirping in the background. A man is walking past the houses and parked cars questioning himself on if he was on the correct route to get to his destination, all while the camera is rotating around him. This creates a feeling that either he is the main character of the film or he will play an important role in the beginning of it. This immedietly followed by a constant over the shoulder shot to show that he's being followed by a white car. Once the man crosses the street, the car is parked with its door open and its driver sneaks up behind the man and chokes him until he's unconscious. As this is happening, a faint old-timey and happy music grows louder. This either sets the time of the film or creates a contrasting mood to cover up the sinister act happening on screen. The only credits that are shown are the publisher, Universal Pictures, and the production organizations, Blumhouse and QC Entertainment. This popular film had a budget of 4.5 million dollars and a massive profit of approximately 252 million dollars worldwide. This film has won well over one hundred awards, including the USA Academy Awards' Best Original Screenplay in 2018, as well as nominated for many more.

Film Project Genre Research - The Call (Crime/Thriller)

The film opens to an interaction between a police phone operator and a young girl, with the camera going back and forth between them to show how they're reacting to the conversation. Through their dialogue, it becomes clear that the young girl is calling to report a man breaking into her house and the operator is instructing her how to hide and avoid him. Since the phone operator isn't moving much, most of her screen time is shown through close ups or mid shots while the young girl is running around her house and is shown through full body and close up camera shots. Towards the end of this scene, the already faint background music cuts out and the only sounds heard are the young girl breathing heavily and whispering to the operator. Once she's discovered in her hiding place and kidnapped, the man insults the operator and hangs up the phone. The operator is then shown in a wide shot jumping from her desk while her peers continue their work around her. This transition changes from a silent and anxious atmosphere to a more safe, noisy, and busy work environment. This change may be sudden, but it contributes to the difference in emotions and environment that each character is in. This film had a budget of 12.8 million dollars and had a profit of approximately 52 million dollars. This film may be more than a few years old but has been nominated for several awards and was named a winer at the Leo Awards for the best supporting performance by a male in a motion picture in 2014.

Film Project Genre Research - Split (Thriller/Psychological Horror)

The film opens to a mid/over the shoulder shot with the mian character sitting alone at a birthday party with everyone else taking a group picture in the background. After, some of the background characters are having a discussionwith their father about how they invited her out of pity which gives her the backgound of being possibly shy and a loner. After she and two other party goers head to the car to drive home, a man knocks out their dad and tries to kidna them. A two shot is used to show the dual reactions to the events from the backseat while there is a close up of the main character's unmoving face as she realizes what is happenig to her. There isn't much music being played in this opening scene, but in the car there are sound effects that make the sounds made from moving seem much slower because in times of fear such as this, people go through an experience that makes time seem to go much slower. This film was an unexpected continuation to the film "Unbreakable" and cost about 9 million dollars but earned 66 million dollars in profit.  This film may still be relatively new, but that hasn't stopped it from winning several awards and being nominated for many more. Some awards include the Fright Meter Award, the Golden Trailer Award, and several more film critics awards.

Film Project Genre Research - Happy Death Day (Mystery/Slasher)

The film opens to a quick aerial establishing shot of a brick clocktower surrounded by other smaller building to reference the location of a college due to its similarities to most other ones. It the cuts to a girl waking up from in a bed in a dormitory thats not hers. There is another boy in the room who tries to help in any way he can and, through their dialogue and camera shots showing their faces when they speak with each other, it can be easily inferred that they both went to a party the night before where she drank too much and he took her his dormitory room to rest. This would most definitly cause her to be defensive towards him which is why I assume she was so cynical and rude, that and her hangover. During their conversation, her music on her phone went off which indicated it was her birthday, as the title of the movie would indicate. As expcetcted with most modern films, there aren't many, if any, credits in the beginning of the movie and this one shows no exception. This modern take on a mystery and horror film cost approximately 4.8 million dollars but had a gross income of around 26.5 million dollars, almost five times the original cost. This film is still relatively new and has only been nominated for the Fright Meter Award and nothing else.

Film Project Genre Research - The Shining (Mystery/Psychological Horror)

The film opens to an establishing wide shot that changes from following a body of water to following a car driving on a street through the wilderness with foreboding music playing all the way. The camera following the car indicates that the people inside will have an important role to play in the film or just in the beginning to help "set the stage" for the rest of the film. This role, whatever it may be, is most likely negative, dark, or dangerous due to the dark music playing as the car is being followed. All while during this, several credits move across the screen from bottom to top, starting with the film director Stanely Kubrick followed by two other names before the title of the film is shown. Several other names are shown without their roles except for the executive producer and who's novel the film was based upon. The film was released in 1980 and has since become a staple of the horror film genre with a budget of 15 million dollars and a gross income of approximately 44 million for a profit almost three times the original cost. This critically acclaimed film has won a few awards such as the Saturn Award for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA in 2012 and the winner for the Online Film and Television Association Hall of Fame induction in 2014.

Project Selection - My Decision

After carefully examining the possible efforts and results I would get from either project type, I've decided that I will focus my skills on a film production project. I truly think that I would excel in this field because I have a wild imagination of fictional worlds and ideas that I know others would find appealing. Also, being an artist, I know which camera angles and shots would best fit every scene to help make the movie flow smoothly. Now, in regards to my vision on this film project, I definitely want to delve into the theme of plot twists and secrets. That's why I chose to produce a film that's a combination of a romance-horror-thriller genre. It will circulate around a teenage girl who feels she's had her heart broken too many times, turns into a psychopathic killer behind the disguise of an innocent teenage girl, and wants revenge. Producing a film such as this requires me to work within a group that would be able to help me cast the film, locate appropriate settings, and edit it. As of my current group, I am working as a co-director/writer with Julia Chu, but as for the others, we have yet to find them.

Project Selection - Film

The aspect of film production that has always interested me was the ability for writers and directors to show others their visions. Depending on what these visions may hold, they can can influence audiences into thinking and feeling in ways that no other form of media can do. This could be taken in forms like creating a cinematic universe that people love or filming themes and ideas that can affect people and the industry for years to come. In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, John Hughes had done something similar to this when he first filmed scenes breaking the fourth wall and having an end credits scene. Now, many comedies replicate the fourth wall breaks and many more posses end credit scenes, like Marvel or DC - cinematic universes that people love. Away from the popularity films can achieve, writers can also fill them with hidden meanings and themes that can make it a work of art instead. For example, in All the President's Men, the reporters were constantly conflicted on doing the right thing or ensuring their safety. This was an extreme theme many people could relate to which caused the film to be a major success. However, I believe the true aspect of film production that allows for it's success is the amount of signiture creativity a director puts in it, whether it be amazing characters, specializing in specific genres, or anything that will make it unique and stand out amongst other films.

Project Selection - Magazine

Going into the field of print journalism would interest me greatly on the grounds that I believe the exchange of information is necessary to make a relationship, community, or even a nation thrive. As shown in The Newsroom, the news organization had a segment in which only the most important stories were pursued and covered. In their attempts to inform their audiences, they caused their ratings to drop, and thereby, less people viewed their stories. But the information they were presenting went deeper and presented more thought provoking questions than any other news station. But that's where it can become a challenge, journalists need to find that perfect balance in their stories which will both inform their audiences and entice them to read or view them. Also, being an informant of the events that happen in the world to the audience, there is always a pressure to be correct - no matter the urgency. Just like in All the President's Men, the reporters needed to make sure they were going to print the correct iformation of they could be charged with serious federal offenses. But that's also an interesting aspect of the journalism; being extremely thorough and checking every angle of the story for complete coverage. One more reason I'd like to go into print journalism is the fact that all the information given directly to the readers, nothing is left open to interpretation or misjudgement; something I struggle with when communicating to more than a few people.