Schedule

                       Production Schedule 

To make sure I finish my film on time, I created a filming schedule for the next upcoming weeks This is so that I don’t have to rush everything at the last second and I can be organized.

Week 1: Feb 27 - March 3 

-Finalize my shot list and plan camera angles.

- Choose the best locations in my house for filming.

-Gather props and plan set design.

-Test different lighting setups to find what works best.

-Plan sound design and start recording test sound effects.

Week 2: March 4 - March 10 (Filming)

- Film the first half of my scenes (waking up, exploring, discovering clues).

- Review the footage and reshoot if needed.

- Adjust lighting and camera angles based on test shots.

- Record key sound effects like whispers, footsteps, and background noise.

Week 3: March 11 - March 17 (Filming & Editing)

-Film the second half of my scenes (suspenseful moments, final reveal, title screen).

-Start basic editing arrange clips in order and cut unnecessary footage.

- Add in recorded sound effects and background music.

Week 4: March 18 - March 21 (Final Edits & Review)

- Perfect the editing: adjust timing, add smooth transitions, and enhance suspense.

- Make sure sound levels are balanced (no parts too loud or too quiet).

-Watch the full film opening and get feedback from others.

- Make any final changes and export the final version.

Breakdown

                         Scene Breakdown

1. Establishing Shot (5 sec)

-What we see: A creepy, empty place (a dark forest, an abandoned house, or a lonely street).

-Sounds: Soft wind on trees and scary music.

-Why it matters: It sets the spooky mood and makes the audience feel uneasy.

2. Close-Up - Protagonist Waking Up (8 sec)

-What we see: A close-up of the main characters face. Their eyes slowly open.

-Sounds: Heavy breathing and distant voices.

-Why it matters: It shows that they don’t know where they are.

3. Medium Shot - Protagonist POV (5 sec)

- What we see: A blurry, shaky shot of the place around them.

-Sounds: Breathing and weird background noises.

-Why it matters: It makes the audience feel as lost as the character feels.

4. Over-the-Shoulder - Looking Around (6 sec)

-What we see: The character stands up and looks around carefully.

-Sounds: Footsteps, leaves rustling, soft whispers.

-Why it matters: It makes audience wonder whats happening.

5. Close-Up - A Mysterious Clue (7 sec)

-What we see: A close-up of a strange note, a weird symbol, or writing on the wall 

-Sounds: A sudden, creepy music note.

-Why it matters: It introduces the mystery of the film.

6. Following a Strange noise (8 sec)

-What we see: The character slowly walks toward the strange noise in the distance.

-Sounds: Footsteps getting louder, whispers growing stronger.

-Why it matters: Builds tension, making the audience nervous.

7. Something Feels Wrong (10 sec)

-What we see: The world around the character changes (maybe shadows move, lights flicker, or something appears for a second).

-Sounds: Weird static noises, deep breathing, scary whispers.

-Why it matters: Shows that something is not right with reality.

8. Close-Up - The Characters Fear (5 sec)

-What we see: The character looks shocked or scared.

-Sounds: Heavy breathing, heartbeat getting faster.

-Why it matters: Shows their emotions and makes the audience feel tense.

9. A Flashback (6 sec)

-What we see: A quick, blurry memory from their past (maybe something happy that suddenly turns dark).

-Sounds: Echoes of voices, static sounds.

-Why it matters: Gives a clue about what’s happening to them.

10. Panic Scene (10 sec)

-What we see: The character starts running or breathing faster as if something is after them.

-Sounds: Fast footsteps, heart pounding, whispers getting louder.

-Why it matters: Adds action and makes the audience scared.

11. A Big Discovery (8 sec)

What we see: The character finds something shocking (maybe a mirror that doesn't show their reflection, a locked door, or a hidden message.)

-Sounds: A loud, scary noise, then silence.

-Why it matters: Leaves the audience with a mystery.

12. Black Screen - The Title Appears (5 sec)

-What we see: The screen turns black, and the title of the film appears with a spot light on it.

-Sounds: A fading scream

-Why it matters: Ends with suspense and makes people want to watch more.

Reflect: This is the chronological order of what will take place in the film. Of course some things might have to change but overall this really helped me be able to envision my film and know where to start.

                             Who and Where?

Who? (Character Details)

-Protagonist: Jasmine (name not certain yet)

-Age: 22

-Appearance: Sweaty, lost, and scared

-Personality: Smart but disoriented, struggling with fragmented memories

-Goal: Figure out how they ended up in this strange place and uncover the truth about their past

-Conflict: Battles between what is real and what is all in the mind

Where? (Location Planning)

-Primary Setting: A mysterious house

-Why? Creates an unsettling mood

-Visuals: Dim lighting, flickering bulbs, distorted reflections

-Sound Design: Echoing footsteps, dripping water, distant whispers, low to high screams, maybe a clock ticking

 BRAIN DUMP

Welcome to the beginning of my films planning process! I have decided to create a psychological thriller for my final project since I love suspense and mystery movies. My goal is to make an eye catching film opening that keeps the audience wondering what’s next.

Idea

The film will start with a character waking up in a creepy place not knowing how they got there. As they explore, they find hints to where they are, memories, and strange sounds. The themes will focus on isolation, paranoia, and self-identity. 

Inspiration 

The film has to include: 

• Dark, moody visuals with shadows and muted colors.

• Unsettling sound design to create tension and suspense.

• An unreliable narrator, so the audience questions reality along with the protagonist.

Next Steps

• Create a mood board

• Test out editing apps

Stay tuned for updates as I move forward with my project.

 

Project Proposal 

Hello!

    My name is Courtney King and I am a Sophomore in Highschool. I have chosen to work alone to make a film opening. The film opening genre will be a psychological thriller and I chose it because I feel it will be fun to make a inside look of someone’s head. The film will be PG-13 which is teenagers and up, since it might be too scary for younger children. Many interested in mystery, investigative, and adrenaline rushing movies will definitely enjoy this one. 

More Info!

    In my brief I will potentially address social issues like paranoia and anxiety. To create this film I will use YouTube, CapCut, Adobe, and FlexClips. These app choices might grow or change as this process goes on, but based on the research I have done these are the best options. One thing I might need to do more research on is adding the sound to the video, but that shouldn’t be too hard. 

Basic Plan!

    To help me plan my final product I will create a story board. This will help me get a layout of how I want the scenes to look like. Also, I will do some testing with the apps to make sure I fully know how to use them and that they are the best course of action.

Opening Credits

 OPENING CREDITS RESEARCH

Why?

    I will be conducting research on opening credits because it lets film makers have freedom to convey the personality and themes of the work before the movie has even started. It has a really big impact on setting the tone and plot of the film.

What’s Necessary 

    Opening credits need the cast and crew names, producers, and studios. It also should have background music. Also, some type of visual such as, clips that relate to the film or even a sequence of colors. The following video gives many examples of options.

How To Make It

    Flexclip is the leading video editor and movie maker. It has many templates and will be very useful in making the opening credits. I will be able to add my own footage and text to the templates. The templates take away half of the work. So, I really just have to figure out what the theme will be, which making the mood board will help me with.

Analyze

This research was incredibly helpful for my film as opening credits is an important factor in my film opening. This informed me on what app I can use to produce the credits and what it actually needs to incorporate.

Resources 

-https://wherecreativityworks.com/opening-credits/

-YouTube

-https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/movie-opening-credits/

-https://www.flexclip.com/learn/add-opening-credit-to-movie.html

Films mood board

                            Final Mood Board

Why?

I made this mood board to see, with actual visuals, what vibe I want my film to have. This helped me get visual inspiration, create an identity for my film, and decide on my future visual direction.

How

    I made this mood board by using a combination of Pinterest and Canva. I got the images from Pinterest and added them together using Canva. I also added text personal to my future film using Canva. In Pinterest I found many images related to the gloomy, dark theme I am going for.

Specifics

    I added words/phrases like, “where am I?”, “NO”, and “AHHH”, to show that the goal is to create a scared and confused theme. I also added an image of a newspaper with the word disappear as a clue and to add even more mystery. Overall, the mood board shows how gloomy and dark the film will be which means low light and nighttime filming.

Analyze

This was over extremely helpful in my goals of making an amazing, smooth, and focused film opening. I got a very good sense of what I want it to film like. Next I will make a storyboard for my film to be a able to go even more in detail of what I want my final creation to look like. 

Resources 

- Pinterest

-Canva 

- https://www.nngroup.com/articles/mood-boards/#:~:text=Summary%3A%20Create%20mood%20boards%20to,certain%20feeling%20at%20a%20glance.

Examples

 Examples of Psychological Thrillers

Research

    Some famous psychological thriller movies are Se7en, The Shining, and Parasite. So, let’s look into their characteristics and what I can use in my own film.

- Se7en

    This movie follows two detectives trying to catch a serial killer who chooses his victims based on the seven deadly sins. From the very beginning, the film creates a gloomy, tense feeling with constant rain and dark city streets. The crime scenes are disturbing, and the mystery keeps the audience guessing.

What I can use:

-A dark setting to create a sense of fear.

-Clues and mysteries that make the audience curious.

-Weather (like rain or fog) to add to the mood.

- The Shining

    This classic horror film follows a man named Jack Torrance who takes care of a hotel during the winter with his family. But as the months go by, he slowly loses his mind. The opening scene shows his car driving through a long, winding road surrounded by mountains, showing how far away he is from the rest of the world.

What I can use:

-A setting that makes the character feel alone or trapped.

-A slow build-up of tension, making the audience uncomfortable.

-A characters mind slowly unraveling, making audience question what’s real.

-Parasite 

    This movie tells the story of a poor family who tricks a rich family into hiring them as workers. The first scene shows their small, cramped basement apartment, immediately making the audience understand their struggles. This is later contrasted with the huge, beautiful house of the wealthy family.

What I can use:

-The setting to show a characters struggles or lifestyle.

-A theme that reflects real-life issues, like wealth or power.

-A story that starts simple but becomes more intense over time.

Resources 

-Se7en resource

-The Shining resource

-Parasite resource

                   Psychological Thriller Facts

What is it?

A psychological thriller a sub-genre of thriller that immerses you in complex mental states, fears, and anxieties of its characters. It is known for its unreliable narrators, plot twists, and themes of mental illness and moral doubtfulness. 

Characteristics 

A psychological thriller puts the watcher in the minds of its characters, creating stories that explore human psychology. This sub-genre usually has unreliable narrators as the characters give a twisted story of events which creates suspense. Suspense plays a big role in most films but especially in psychological thrillers. They are also known for their plot twists keeping the story unpredictable.

Popular Themes

Some often themes of psychological thrillers are identity, memory, paranoia, conspiracy, fear, and anxiety. They often incorporate other genres such as mystery, drama, action, and horror.

How to use…

    The most common mental disorders used in psychological thrillers are anxiety, spit personality, and paranoia. The audience should be able to come up with an idea of what the disorder is.

    Mental illness can be portrayed through violence or confusion. Mental illness in films are often inaccurate stereotypes. So, violence and confusion are usually heightened and exaggerated.

Resources

-https://glcoverage.com/2024/07/18/psychological-thriller/

-https://www.actionontheside.tv/post/five-different-facts-about-psychological-thriller-short-films

-https://amattleresearch.digitalscholar.rochester.edu/portrayals-of-mental-illness-in-film-and-the-impact-on-viewers-individuals-with-mental-illness-and-mental-health-treatment/#:~:text=Many%20characters%20with%20mental%20illness,context%20that%20trivializes%20their%20illness.