FoNtS

HeLlO! I hAvE a QuEsTiOn...

What made you click on this blog post over all the rest? Did the title stand out against the rest? Keep this in mind as you read the rest of this post...

As I have already demonstrated, every part of my film opening is a conscious decision that is meant to set the tone or achieve the purpose of my production. One conscious decision I made during the development process of my opening is the use of a specific font.

Fonts are an incredibly important yet widely overlooked portion of a film. Most films that are streamed will lose their viewers within the first 15 seconds of its playing (Film Shortage, 2010, p.1). This demonstrates how crucial the opening of a film is to the overall production. An effective font can serve to grab the attention of the viewer, which is an important part of a film opening.

Not only should the font grab the attention of the viewer, but it also should set the tone of the production. Take a look at these film titles. Pay close attention to the font that is used.

In some film titles, the font serves to establish the setting of the film. In the case of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the font mimics the font of the world-famous Hollywood Sign in California. Pretend the title was written in this font. How would the viewer know which Hollywood the film is taking place in? Hollywood, Florida? Hollywood, Georgia? This specific font tells the viewer that the film will be set in Hollywood, California.

In other film titles, the font serves to establish the tone of the film. For example, if the film title "SE7EN" was written in this font, it would tell the viewer nothing about the production. However, because it is written in a faded, bold, two-toned font, it is effective in setting the tone of the film as ominous, dark, and scary.

However, according to Film Shortage, there are some fonts you should never use for your production. Not only does this include common fonts like Times New Roman and Arial, but it also includes fonts that are iconic of other productions or brands. For example, Disney is a brand that uses a very iconic font for all aspects of its corporation. When a consumer sees the Disney font, they immediately think of Disney. Take a look at this photo:

Even though those words don't say "Disney" chances are that you associated them with Disney due to them being in Disney's signature font. For these reasons, it is important I stay away from fonts that are iconic of other brands, businesses, or productions.

With these concepts in mind, I will search for a new font that will better fit my production. Stay tuned to see what I find!

References:

Film Shortage. Typography And Titles in Film. Retrieved from https://filmshortage.com/typography-and-titles-in-film/

May, J. (4 Oct, 2010). Smashing Magazine. The Art Of Film Title Design Throughout Cinema History. Retrieved from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/10/the-art-of-the-film-title-throughout-cinema-history/#top

Distribution Research

Hello! As I continue with this production process, I have started to research how I would distribute my film. As an amateur filmmaker, I do not have the ability to distribute my production on large platforms such as Netflix or Hulu and I do not have any way of getting a company to show my film in theaters. Because of this, I will have to take a different approach to distribution.

To start off, according to author Jeff Tyson (2000), the process of getting a film in a consumer's hand is very long. A film starts off as a concept that is presented to a studio that decides whether or not they will purchase the rights to the film. After this occurs, the film is created and sent to the studio. The studio company will make an agreement with a distribution company that will then make deals with buyers that are representing movie theaters. This process is summarized in the info-graph below:

Due to the fact that I am simply an amateur student, I would not be successful in distributing my production the same way larger companies do. Instead, I will focus on presenting my production at local film festivals and utilizing platforms such as Youtube and Vimeo for distribution.

To start off, I will distribute my films by presenting it at local film festivals. The most popular local film festivals near me are the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival, and the Popcorn Frights Film Festival (Valys, 2017, p.1-6). I will especially focus on the Popcorn frights film festival, as it is a festival that is devoted to only-in-Florida horror films. Presenting my film at this film festival would help me effectively reach my target audience.

Additionally, Youtube and Vimeo would be the most effective distribution platforms for me to use because they are free and are accessible by a large audience. Youtube is the #1 distribution platform in the world, so it is an incredible tool for distribution. Youtube will effectively reach my target audience. According to Aslam (2020), 78% of US men and 68% of US women use YouTube. In addition, 81% of 15–25 year-olds in the US use YouTube (p.3). This is a tool that is widely used by my target audience, so it is effective to focus the distribution of my film on it. Also, viewers who enjoy the film will be able to share the film with others by simply posting the link on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This cross-media convergence will help effectively distribute my film to more people.


This weekend, I will be doing my first round of filming. Stay tuned to see how it goes!

References:

Aslam, S. (10 February, 2020). Omnicore. YouTube by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts. Retrieved from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/youtube-statistics/

Tyson, J. (18 September, 2000) HowStuffWorks.com. How Movie Distribution Works.
Retrieved from https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution.htm

Valys, P. (8 October, 2017). SunSentinel. South Florida's top five film festivals. Retrieved from https://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sf-arts-guide-film-critics-picks-20171008-story.html

Location Scouting Day 2

Hello! Today, I scouted a location for the indoor portion of my film opening! I did not have to go very far, because I found that my own house would be the best and most practical place to film this portion. Here are some locations in my house I will be filming:

Dining Room

This dining room will be an excellent location for the most important shot in my opening, the shot of the woman eating dinner alone in a dark room. This shot is so important because it will help establish the character as a lonely individual who has a dark personal life. This location is one of the few areas in my house that can get dark enough for me to film this shot. Also, there is a lot of space behind the table, which will serve as a break from the tight shots of the character and will further demonstrate her character as lonely. 

My Room

My room is the best room in the house for me to film my "bedroom preparation" scene. In this scene, the woman will tidy up the room and put a stuffed animal on the bed in preparation for her new housemate. This scene will serve to create suspense, as it will forshadow that the woman is preparing for something odd. My room is the best place to use because I would not need to find any props to use and it can get very dark. This will allow me to film shots that will be effective in creating suspense and a dark mood.

I will be moving into the filming process within the next week! Stay tuned to see how this all comes together!

Location Scouting Day 1

Hello! Today, I drove around my city looking for a location to film the playground portion of my film opening! I went to three different parks, take a look!

Hunter's Pointe Park

This park is a beautiful location to film. Complete with a covered area, a two-story playground, and a lake, this is a  very strong choice. However, I have a problem with this location, as it is very bright and somewhat bland compared to the other parks. The playground does not have many elements and the park does not seem like it would match the story I am trying to tell. It looks too much like a vacation destination, not like an average park in an average town.

Jardin Park

This is Jardin park, another beautiful location in my community. This is a great location, but there is one thing that is stopping me from using it as my filming location. In the background of the second picture is a road, which is connected to a parking lot that is just out of frame on the left-hand side of the photo. Having this location so close to a road/parking lot will make it hard to control continuity error in my film because I will have no way to keep cars out of my shots. Continuity error can appear if a car moves when I am in the middle of my filming, as one second a car will be there and the next second it disappears. For this reason, I will not choose to film at Jardin Park. I must say, however, I have realized that my community looks more like a vacation spot than an actual town! These are some beautiful pictures!

Oakbrook Park

This is Oakbrook park, the location I have decided to film the playground portion of my film opening at. There are many reasons why Oakbrook park is the best location to film.

First, it is the only park that is not solely surrounded by palm trees. Although these palms are quite majestic, they do not fit the setting I am trying to develop for my film opening, as they stand out and take focus away from the characters. In addition, the trees at Oakbrook park give more shade than the trees at the other parks do. This will allow me to be able to have multiple different lightings that I can choose from based on how I want that shot to feel. For example, at the beginning of the opening during the credits, I want the shots to be bright and fun. During the scene where the female approaches the child, I want the shots to be a lot darker. This location will allow me to do just that.

Secondly, it is far enough away from any surrounding roads that no cars will get in any of my shots, so I will not have to worry about continuity error.

There we have it! I will be using Oakbrook park as my filming location for the playground portions of my film opening. I am excited to be filming at such a beautiful location.

Portfolio Project Research

Hello! In class this week, we started our portfolio project! My teacher explained to us what the project entails and how we can use what we have learned so far to make it incredible. I am so excited about this project, as I will be able to freely express my creative ideas in a film opening! After doing research on film openings, I have decided to create a horror/thriller piece.

Horror is a genre, usually fictional, that is intended to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle its viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Horror movies target 15-25-year-olds because younger audiences are drawn towards graphic images and themes than older ones. Additionally, they focus on males over females as the horror thrills are statistically enjoyed by males more. According to author Mekado Murphy (2017), horror movies raked in a whopping 733 million in ticket sales in 2017, making it the biggest year for horror films in history.

Thriller is closely related to horror. But instead of featuring scary monsters or other fictional characters, thriller takes a more realistic approach to scare the audience. Additionally, horror relies on visuals of blood and gore to gain audience interest. Thriller, however, is psychologically stimulating. The sense of fear that is evoked when watching these films is caused more by what the viewer thinks will happen next rather than the graphic visuals commonly featured in horror films. 

The purpose of a film opening is primarily to engage the audience so they want to continue watching. It can be compared to the "hook" in an essay; it serves to make the consumer want more. I have chosen to do a horror film opening for my portfolio project because the film openings for horror films are usually more engaging than that of other genres. By following the conventions of the horror genre, I will be able to create an engaging film opening for this project.

This week, I will be researching film openings from other horror/thriller films. I am interested to see what I am going to find!


References:

Murphy, M. (2017, 26 Oct). The New York Times. 2017: The Biggest Year in Horror History. 
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/movies/top-horror-movies-box-office-it-get-out.html?auth=login-google

AMC filmsite. Thriller-Suspense Films. Retrieved from https://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html