https://drive.google.com/open?id=1isHRuDHR3v6JvjSR0gCszUTusH1d6ECB



Here it is. After weeks of thought, and hard work, here is the final edit of my film opening.

Two of a Kind...

Gangster Films and Setting

One crucial aspect of my film opening that I've decided on is location. Before I get into where I'll be filming, I'm going to explain my thought process and exactly how I came to the decision of where I will film.

Gangster films normally take place in urban areas. A good example of this is in the movie The Godfather. It has three major locations: New York City, Las Vegas, and Sicily. Although the Sicily location isn't urban, it is not where the gang activity occurs. Instead, it is where Michael Corleone goes into hiding.

     Another iconic gangster movie that takes place in an urban setting is American Gangster. It takes place in New York and New Jersey, with a large portion of it taking place in Harlem, New York.

     My film opening will start in the suburbs since it is where the mob boss lives. Then, the film opening will transition to the city.

How Shots Make a Scene

     One thing I know will be crucial to my film and portraying the intended message are camera shots and angles. Camera shots and angles are used to establish a character's role in relation to other characters, as well as their own mood. For example, when trying to establish a character's power and authority, one would use a low camera angle. This is because it puts the character higher than the audience and, in some instances, higher than other characters. This is one technique that I plan on using, as the main character in my film is a powerful mob boss. Because I will be establishing that he leads a double life, I will only incorporate this angle in scenes where he is acting mob boss; as opposed to scenes where he is with his family. 

     As you can see, using camera shots and angles in the right scenes and using the right techniques will be pivotal to the development of my film opening.

Things Are Falling into Place

Because I will be borrowing my friend's vehicle to film my opening scene, I decided it would be best to coordinate, in advance, a day for shooting. The only time both of our schedules lined up is two weeks from now; the last weekend of March. I plan on shooting the whole film opening in one day and then putting it all together. Once I have a draft of it, I will decide what shots and scenes need to be retaken, and get it done. To edit my film opening, I will be using an online-based editor called WeVideo. This editing software is very easy to use and gives me so many options for transitions between shots, color editing, and even adding words to video which will be crucial in the very beginning of my opening as I will be including the main credits.

Before I start filming, however, there are still a few things I must do. The main one is building the gimbal for my phone that I mentioned a few blogs ago. I feel like this will be pivotal to the quality and professional feel of my project, and will allow me to make certain camera movements that would otherwise be impossible or extremely difficult to do well. I have to go to the supply store to buy the materials shown in the video, but luckily it amounts to less than $5.

Other than that, we are nearly there!

Group Meeting Day Was a Success!

     Our our teacher had us meet with four other classmates, each from a different project, and dialogue over our projects to get feedback from current work as well as help each other with ideas. It was very interesting to see how differently each person is taking on this project, and the amount of work that my classmates are putting in. When it came time to speak on my project, I shared that I needed some ideas on was on how to incorporate the techniques we've learned in class to establish the main character's duality but also his authority. My classmates were very helpful, advising me to take advantage of low angle shots, as well as make sure the attire of my character matches the traits I want to portray and go with the motif in my genre of the mob boss wearing a nice black suit. These subtle, but key tactics would help me establish my character's traits.

     This image is from the iconic movie The Godfather, with the Godfather being shown in this picture. Through certain techniques, this image speaks volumes. It uses a slight low angle shot; low enough to where the Godfather would be looking down at the camera. Furthermore, he is wearing a suit with black as the predominant color. The color as well as the suit itself establish not only his wealth, but his power and the need to take him seriously.

Furthermore, I also spoke about my troubles with deciding exactly on what dialogue to use with my dinner scene. Here, they said that a very small amount of cliche dialogue will not hurt, as long as it is overall original and not something that has been heard many times. They also advised that having little dialogue may even be more engaging for the audience, as it does not spoon feed them and requires attention to what is going on in the film to grab hold of the message I am attempting to send. I will most likely spend one whole day creating a large storyboard, and laying out where I will include dialogue to have a better idea of the direction I need to go. I am going to be watching dinner scenes in a few movies to get a better understanding of what to do and what not to do.

Things to Consider

As the time for filming nears, there are many things still left to consider...

     I've got to decide on what location to use for my film. In mob family movies, the main setting is always a large city. Luckily, I live in South Florida where Miami is just a short drive away. I am planning on filming at night due to the nature of my character, and the double life that he leads. Basically, he is a family man by day, and a cold-blooded killer by night. Filming at night will be essential to establishing the duality of my main character. Luckily, the city isn't too dark at night so the filming won't be so poor.

     I've yet to plan dialogue for my film opening. This is honestly the hardest part for me. In the very beginning of my scene, my main character is having dinner with his family. After brief conversation, the dinner scene ends and he is seen putting his child(ren) to bed. I have to brainstorm dialogue because it will be a challenge not to make this scene very cliche. When I think of what to have my main character say, what comes to mind is "how was your day honey," and although it works, I feel as though the writing should be more creative and engaging.

Furthermore, to establish the authority of my character, he'll walk out of his home and into a large black SUV. I've decided to use this large black SUV because in modern films and TV series, the mob or gang leader tends to be in a large black SUV getting chauffeured. This will serve to establish that my character is someone of power, authority, and wealth. Luckily, one of my friends is letting me borrow their black Chevrolet Suburban, exactly like the one below, which will be perfect.

Camera Equipment

     Although it may not be super important, I want my film opening to have the feel of something professionally produced. In movies, it is almost as if you forget that you're looking through a camera because of the stability of the movements and the precision of the shots. However, professional film makers use equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars and have experienced cameramen and production crews that work meticulously to make every camera movement and shot seem flawless. In order for my film to come as close to that as possible, I'm looking into lenses for my phone as well as stabilizers to expand the possibilities of shots and camera movements that I can incorporate. I'm doing this before my actual storyboard because the equipment I'll have available to me will influence what shots and camera angles I can actually incorporate. Obviously I do not have a budget of thousands of dollars, so when it comes to gimbals and camera holders, I will be going with DIY alternatives. I was looking up some DIY guides for a gimbal, and found this one:

     This diy works for best for me. Not only is it a cheap alternative to an actual gimbal, but I have all the tools necessary to make it. Once I actually construct it, I'll show you guys a few comparison videos with and without the gimbal, and decide if it is any good. Based on the results in the video, I think it's definitely worth a shot.