Teaser Trailer

        With the main trailer for Deranged thoroughly through the editing process, it was time to start thinking about the second trailer. I will be making the second trailer more of a teaser trailer so that it doesn't copy similar formatting to the first and main trailer. I have decided to make some changes to the script as I believe it fits the story a bit more. Instead of using clips entirely from the first trailer, I wanted to add something unique to this teaser. I decided to film some old home videos right off of the television screen. While this comes across as a loss of quality, it actually perfected the look I was going for. I want the mom to be reminiscing on old home videos and filming the screen gave it a more rustic look. My concern for the rest of this teaser comes after these initial reminiscent shots. It is going to be a challenge merging this "old" footage with new footage and not making it appear out of place. One of my solutions to this problem is that at every high key of the piano throughout Ron Bugden's song, I am placing various animated texts. The first one will state "This is a story about family" followed by "Love" and "Happiness." I also hope to progress the trailer by having the footage being shown coincide with whichever word comes after it. There will also be little of a story line to follow throughout the teaser however being a "teaser" trailer, I think that the formatting is fitting. I hope to have both trailers completed by the end of this week so that I can continue working on the website and poster with little distractions.

Post-Production

        With there being only a few shots left in production, post-production has begun. I am beginning post-production early in order to fix any mistakes before it is too late. In the past, I have needed to shoot some extra b-roll footage, yet have had no time to do so. Already I have come across a few mistakes needing correction. In one scene, the character is supposed to be confused by the blinds being closed very abruptly and midday. However, during this portion of production the camera's exposure was not set up properly to capture the blinds being shut in an affective enough way. To counteract this mistake, I have re-shot portions of just the blinds being shut to make it clear to the viewer what is going on.

        Music has been another struggle that I am trying to resolve before it is too late. The songs I have chosen are still being used, however for one of them the beginning portion is just not long enough. Film trailers a majority of the time are synced with a song or two, which is what I am attempting to do here. One of the songs I picked has a nice beginning, especially for establishing shots. The issue is that this portion of the song is not as long as I would like it to be. In order to lengthen this portion, I am copying and pasting the beginning of the song to play nearly twice. The spots that I am cutting at are relatively easy to sync up with one another so the viewer shouldn't have any idea this was a problem to begin with.
        The other portion of post-production that I am working on are any animations I may need. Luckily, I have already come up with the idea for each animations text font, size, and general appearance. Now all that must be done is syncing each animation with the music to give the trailers a nice flow. With production coming to a close, I plan to finish shooting the remaining scenes at the beginning of this week so that post-production can be the main focus.

Production Has Begun

        With my sister going back to college last Sunday, I was pressured in getting all of her scenes filmed as soon as possible. While Friday night was supposed to be the first day of shooting, we ended up filming the first few scenes Saturday morning. Luckily, I did not need my sister for too many shots so we got all of her scenes out of the way. The only thing I may need from her now is a voice-over or two, however that is easy to send through email. With most shots taking place in my house complete, I can now move on to on-location shooting. The remaining shots I need require a doctors office and an outdoor scenario. Luckily, I can use my parents work as it contains exam rooms or the office in my house, and I have found places around my neighborhood to shoot outdoor establishing shots.
        Some early troubles I am having while filming are poor actors. While this is not a professional production, it is difficult getting good takes when the actors are not as focused. To counteract the poor acting, I am trying my best to get good cinematography and mise-en-scene. While some films have poor acting, the beauty of the shots can save it from getting no viewers. I am also having some minor problems with timing. The actors I have chosen to use are on tight schedules, so each scene must be planned to perfection before it is shot as I will only have so long to film.
        While I am still in production, I have already began post-production. I am getting ahead on various animations such as the end title and studio intros. I will be using the same "studios" as my previous film, Scenic Route Inc. and Moonlit Productions. I also have chosen the music for each trailer, provided royalty-free by Ross Bugden. The songs have different tones for different audiences and purposes, while still maintaining the overall theme. I have also begun on the films website, http://derangedmovie.weebly.com, and am thinking of ideas for the poster. While there is still a long way to go, this project is finally beginning to take shape and I am excited to see the finished product.

Ross Bugden Music:

Main Trailer

Teaser Trailer

Script Update

        My initial backstory has needed some updating after some minor script changes were made based upon actor circumstances. Previously, Emily Johnson was off at college while John Johnson was a junior in high school; their roles have now swapped. John will be in college and Emily will be the junior at home with their mom, Christina Johnson. In filmmaking, things don't always go as planned and instead of panicking and making the situation worse, it's better to just take a minute and think about how to solve the problem. In my situation, there is not necessarily a problem with the actors, it was more so with the script. All of the actors I had lined up are still available and willing to get the job done; the problem is that the actors themselves appear different in skin colors and hair colors and such. This would take away from the setting I am trying to create. To solve this issue I decided to change from the male son being the lead to the female daughter being the lead. The son was going to be played by my friend Jose Cabrera however there were many different options for how the mom would be represented. In a decision to make the film better and my life a little bit easier, I found it better to use my sister and mom as they obviously look much more alike than if I used a friend and my mom. This also solves the problem of timing and when to shoot. I no longer have to rely on outside sources because I see my family everyday. If a certain shot came out wrong, I am able to do a re-shoot much easier. This change also makes it so that the entire film will take place in my house, which makes it easier in not having to combine two homes to make it look like one.

Equipment

        Being a high school senior, it can be challenging to get my hands on somewhat professional equipment to shoot on. Luckily, I have a few resources others may not be as fortunate to obtain. As for the camera I will be filming on, I will be using a Canon T5i. The Canon T5i is a DSLR, making it good for both photography as well as filming. While this camera can struggle in low light scenarios, it does very well otherwise. I also plan to shoot in mainly daytime settings making it easier to avoid film grain and obtain the most professional looking footage.

        While having a good camera is a huge plus, having good stabilization is on a whole other level. Shooting handheld only goes so far and it is important to get some nice steady camera movements if the scene calls for it. For many shots I will be using a basic Manfrotto Compact Tripod. Tripods offer great stabilization for little money and are relatively easy to use. It can also help stabilize certain camera movements such as a dolly or a pan, which are possible handheld but come out much smoother with the use of a tripod.

        Sound is another large component of movie making. While this is a trailer and not a complete film, there is still some audio to go with the music. Whether it be voiceovers or a-synchronous sounds, a good mic is definitely a large help. For audio, I plan to use a Rode VideoMic shotgun microphone. This mic mounts easily to the top of the T5i and the audio that is produces is a large improvement over the T5i's built in microphone. While shotgun microphone's are not necessarily the best for voiceovers or dialogue, it will get the job done for my purposes.

        As for editing hardware and software, I plan to edit using Adobe Premiere Pro as well as a little bit of Adobe After Effects on my MacBook Pro. I have used these programs for many years and enjoy editing on them. Premiere Pro is a great software for a newer filmmaker to get into the world of editing as it offers a lot of advanced techniques while not being too complicated to use. After Effects will mainly be used for building simple animated text. Whether it be the film title itself or the studios in charge of the creation of the film, After Effects is a great advanced tool to get a professional looking animation.

Images:
Tripod
Mic
Camera
Premiere Pro

Location

        Deranged takes place in what is supposed to be a 'normal neighborhood' and a 'normal house.' There's no haunted cemeteries or old churches, which is what makes this film easier to connect with for viewers. Nothing is supposed to be out of the ordinary. As part of the trailers, I want the setting to play a larger role than it normally may. I plan on doing this by shooting various beauty shots of the surrounding parks, lakes, and neighborhood streets. The remainder of the film is meant to take place almost entirely in the home of the Johnson's, apart from a visit to the doctor and maybe the grocery store.

        As for on-location shooting, I plan to film in two homes. Making it easier for the actors and in order to save time and be efficient; I want to film in both my house as well as one of the other actors homes. Through the magic of camera angles and editing, I hope to make these two homes appear as one. As for the doctors office, I plan to film in one of two locations. I will either film a true doctors office where my parents work, or I will set up a room in my house to appear as a doctors office. Both have their positives and negatives however it comes down to accessibility as well as time. While filming in a true doctors office seems to be a better place to grasp the setting the best, it may not be the most ideal. There are rules when it comes to filming in a public space such as a doctors office and people may not want to be involved in the production. Also, there is sometimes certain licenses that are necessary to film in such a place. Either way, I will use all of the resources provided to the best of my ability to truly grasp the emotion I want the setting to give off.

Images:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=ySzuwUYt&id=650BCD0D92644B05F0BAECFB84B4DD3187E780DC&q=weston+florida&simid=607996843128652862&selectedIndex=1&adlt=strict&ajaxhist=0

http://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=As7jtyuv&id=3BE7F239F734DC97EE265018C51500C061F79C31&q=weston+florida+&simid=608014916346774842&selectedIndex=44&adlt=strict&ajaxhist=0

     
     

Mental Illness

        As the film Deranged revolves around mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and dementia, I want to make sure that the symptoms Christina experiences are accurate. Beginning with how Christina obtained these symptoms, while she was cleaning up her husbands new medication he was working on for mentally ill patients, a bit of the medicine reached her bloodstream. This caused her to now obtain such an illness. While in certain cases this is a possibility in real life, it is a bit unlikely that a medicine meant to cure such an illness will actually cause it. As this film will have certain science fiction characteristics, I found this appropriate for the story.

Schizophrenia
"Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves," according to the National Institute of Mental Health. This mental illness, although not as common as others, can be quite disturbing. Some of the symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, abnormal thoughts, as well as abnormal body movements. Schizophrenia may be caused by exposure to a virus, birth defects, as well as psychosocial factors. The illness is also known to run in family genes. While Schizophrenia is very serious, the exact cause is still not known. To reduce symptoms, doctors provide antipsychotic medication, coordinated specialty care, as well as various other forms of therapy. Throughout Deranged, certain characteristics of Schizophrenia may be observed however the film is not limited to just this mental illness.

Dementia
"Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life," according to Alzheimer's Association. Dementia can come in various forms including but not limited to: Alzheimer's Disease, Vascular Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, as well as Mixed Dementia. Alzheimer's Disease is the most common form of Dementia. Some symptoms may include having trouble remembering names or events or even recent conversations. Vascular Dementia is associated with loss of judgement and decision making. Parkinson's Disease affect mainly movement, especially in the hands. Mixed Dementia refers to the brain containing more than one type of Dementia. While these mental illnesses are being understood through new technology as damage to brain cells, there is no full cure. The only thing family members can do for patients suffering from dementia is give them drugs that do not stop, but improve various symptoms. While Christina does not have full on dementia throughout the film, she does show various symptoms periodically.

Sources:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

http://www.alz.org/dementia/types-of-dementia.asp

http://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp        

Backstory

        As I continue to work on an outline and backstory for the film I am promoting, I am beginning to transition genres from full on horror to more of a psychiatric thriller after receiving inspiration from films such as Get Out and Split. The story goes as this; The Johnson's were an ordinary family. The father, Chris Johnson, had a stable job working as a scientist in the medical field. The mother, Christina Johnson, was a typical house wife with a part time lawyering position at a firm. Their daughter, Emily Johnson, was off at college. Their son, Brian Johnson, was a junior in high school. Recently, Chris has been working late nights more often and has appeared a little bit quiet to Christina. Being the worrier she is, she suspects Chris of potentially cheating on her. One night as Chris was off on a business trip, she went to snoop through his belongings in his office at home, She came across a few chemicals as part of his work. Without much thought, she moves these glasses full of unknown substances and in doing so, one of the glasses spill. Little to her knowledge, this substance was a new medication Chris had been working on in order to cure various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and dementia. Having an open wound on her hand, this chemical reached Christina's blood stream and spread rapidly throughout her body as she was cleaning up the mess. Within hours, Christina began to act much differently. She would stand and watch objects throughout her house, talk in different voices to herself, and run for no apparent reason. As the film continues, Brian, the only family member at home with her, is beginning to notice these random acts. Christina herself is not aware of her actions, just as a mentally ill patient may. The film will continue with doctors not noticing a problem, as these acts are not constant, and Brian having no form of contacting his father who's trip does not contain cell service.

Genre/Trailer Research

        The genre that I have chosen for my film promotion project is horror. I have always loved this genre, especially when it comes to the film making process. I do get scared when it comes to horror movies, however that's why I find them so intriguing. It always amazes me how the writers and director can incite so much fear into a scene just through some of the technical options they decide to go with. Horror film trailers themselves can incite enough fear into someone to not even feel comfortable enough to go watch the movie. I am excited to explore this genre more and to uncover what it is that makes a horror film so powerful when it comes to controlling the audiences emotions.
        While researching typical horror trailer conventions, I have come across some very interesting specific details. Some examples are that many of the shots are shown in a location that is isolated such as a rural street instead of a busy urban intersection. Also, music plays a key role in all trailers, and even more so in a horror trailer. The music in a horror trailer can incite that a scary moment is about to happen. Music can control the audiences emotions even if the onscreen action isn't all that interesting. Dialogue also plays a large role when it comes to horror trailers. The audience can begin to understand and latch onto the characters fear even when they don't know what it may be scaring them. Horror trailers are exciting yet a challenge. While a horror trailer can sometimes appear easy to make, it is going to take a lot of planning and specific timing to make the film appealing.

Source