Mise-en-scene focused on set and props

For my set there will be a total of three locations; the bathroom, the classroom, and the dinning room. For the opening I would like it to take place in the bathroom where the character will be primping himself to an overwhelming extent hence the blood spattered in the sink from flossing and scrubbing. There will be a quick transition into the classroom where the character is having a private conversation with his teacher concerning his behavior. This classroom is going to be dim and almost life less as it will be empty considering it is only the teacher and student. I would like to add another transition from the classroom to family dinner in the dinning room, it would open up with a bloody streak meticulously being cut into quadrants. Then to further focus on props I would require; floss, nail scrubber, silverware, steak, fake blood, sketches, and chalk. I am sure that I will add more but those are the props that I currently perceive as vital to my vision for this project. 

Overall I want this project to have an eerie effect on those who watch it, I would like it to keep the audience captivated and consistently questioning what will occur. I can't wait to share more of this project with you guys!

Planning post focusing on character design

Character Design and Mise-en-scene

For the mise-en-scene element of my film opening I would like for my character to appear similar to the AHS season 1 character Tate Langdon played by Evan Peters. His character is mentally challenged by the traumatic memories of his assault on his peers. Additionally JD from Heathers portrays an emotionally challenged teen overwhelmed with the extraneous factors of life that cause his outbursts. I like how the following characters Tate Langdon, JD, Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, and Donnie Darko appear dressed as regular high school students yet they posses an unsettling element to their character that solidifies a difference from their peers.

I made this collage featuring various characters with the same aesthetic I want to re-create. Although, some of them are more extreme like Norman Bates and Sweeney Todd I appreciated the  makeup aspect of the characters instead. While the rest of the following characters I would like to utilize a similar high school student appearance, though let it be noted how most of them appear more covered. 

My character is going to be more organized in his physical appearance, wearing minimalistic clothing that is very covering. Longer slacked dark washed pants, a grey or white T-shirt, and a dark colored hoodie layered over.

Overall, I would like to achieve an aesthetic that makes what is considered normal, slightly unsettling and different from stereotypical behavior.

Film Opening Inspiration

 As I previously summarized my film opening, I find it that my character is where I drive my inspiration from. As a horror/ thriller fanatic I have seen several different troupes surrounding children with large ranges from Hereditary, The Boy, Poltergeist, Sleepaway Camp, Sinister and Alice Sweet Alice. I wanted to capture that element of tension these children portray as they are mostly misunderstood or overlooked characters some with mental health issues situational variables that influenced their actions.

In Alice Sweet Alice, the character Alice is characterized as different and isolated from her family and church. She performs strange actions cruelly pranking those around her.

In Poltergeist the children are strangely calm for the paranormal activity surrounding them treating them with intrigue rather than fear. I wanted to embrace the same unsettling tension derived when Carol Anne delivers the line "They're here."

 

Media Theory

For my film opening I intended to include Levi Strauss's Binary Opposition Theory. The theory essentially states that "we experience life through the concept of opposites like good vs. evil, birth and death. This theory assists in stories when the narrative telling is through opposites". I intend to heavily focus on the theming of good vs. evil and the audiences may not understand the full extent to what is going on but they can assume what is to come later as humans subconsciously divide elements in life into sub-categories of the greater positive vs. negative.

I want this to be seen when I include elements to make the main character stand out in a "odd" and isolated way. Having him perform questionable and over compulsive actions like nail cleaning and flossing. The introduction of his behavior and drawings are also used to draw his malicious character, lurking in plain sight.

Summary of my Film Opening

MY OVERALL IDEA

    Hey bloggers, I wanted to explain the overall idea for my film opening. Essentially it will have a montage like sequence when the young boy is intricately flossing his teeth, scrubbing his nails, hand, and palms. While this occurs some credits will be shown as the sound and intensity increase to be interrupted by production company logo. It will then open to a tight close up shot to the boy picking at his nails while his teacher is speaking to him, muffled in the background. I would like to try and do an over-the-shoulder focus pull on the teacher when he lifts his head as an acknowledging response. The teacher would then go onto telling him that she must speak to his parents about his odd behavior and even stranger drawings. If I were to film this and I still have time left in my opening I would like to add an additional scene to show the relationship between the students and parents with a cold dinner I would have the young boy ignoring his family, meticulously cutting a bloody streak. The opening wouldn't have a conclusive end but open when the boy is about to take an action.

*This is the idea behind the script though until filming occurs there are things that might change.*

First Feedback Session

Feedback Session

     Hey bloggers, I just had my first feedback session on February 3. We were organized randomly in to assigned groups of 5 or more, my group consisted of Bella, Isabella, Felipe, Paula, and Chase. Each of us taking turns sharing our blog links, ideas, and our feedback. I enjoyed hearing the ideas of my peers as some had different genres I was interested in learning about, while others had genres similar to mine like psychological horror, thriller, or suspense. I found it helpful to learn from the actions and mistakes of others, for example group member Paula informed us how her team reached out to the owners of "The Weston Dinner" to utilize the space for filming.

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    The feedback I received on my piece was additionally helpful as they are all things I would now consider doing to enhance the quality. Bella encouraged the idea of using a grey scale to further the intentionality behind coloring, as there is a scene I wanted to use a bloody steak for the red being pivotal. Felipe also suggested I quicken the pacing of my initial scenes the increase the tension, while Paula agreed I should take account of the pacing. Chase's commentary was also insightful as his genre was similar to mine and he agreed with my content being representative of my genre.

Film opening Background

Film opening Background

    The idea I have for the storyline is to follow a young boy who will go on to become a serial killer, while this isn't going to be stated or shown it is going to be represented through his meticulous and questionable actions. The boy is a sophomore in high school and he is over obsessive about his cleanliness and physical presentation, in this opening he is confronted by his teacher who has discovered his suspicious drawings.

This is the visual idea I have for the boy's drawings I want to create the psychological aspect that he is within his "own world" that holds no passion and represents a hidden darkness.

Additionally I want to include moments of dissociation where the boy will focus on his hand, his drawing, or whatever task he has at hand. 

To emphasize his lack of empathy and socialization as I want the character to make the audience feel unsettled as the character themselves is unstable.

I want to be able to use lighting elements to further portray this "darkness". Using low key lighting or contrast ratios to keep this idea of isolation.

Lastly the order in which I believe I will show my credits is to begin by focusing on the boys desperate need to feel clean as he scrubs his hand and aggressively flosses his teeth. These actions will all be enhanced with sound, while it gradually increases I would cut straight to the production title allowing the rest of the credits to appear as the story continues.