Film Project

My film class has been a once a week experience of watching/analyzing films and studying cinematography and the process of making a film...all building up to one project, making our own film. The class has been split into six groups with each person in a group assigned the role of either director, editor, sound manager and camera operator. We were each given a genre. My group got horror and I am the camera operator. The film must be five minutes long and contain a mime or clown, a guitar, cheese grater and skull. Also, we must use the lines "Why is this happening to me today of all days?" and "It would be better for us not to talk about that." These rules apply for all groups.



I feel like if I were handed a camera and told to make a movie at the beginning of this semester I wouldn't have had a clue where to start. I'm actually shocked at how much I've learned so far. I can actually apply real cinematic techniques to our film now. I already have so many ideas flowing through my head. Since I am the camera operator and our genre is horror, my contribution to the film will be tremendous. Simply by the camera angle, I can make the audience feel uneasy or I can bring out the traits of a character. I've learned that a dutch tilt makes a shot very twisted and disturbed looking. This is when the camera lies on an angle to make the shot angled on the screen. Also, the lighting of our shots is going to be extremely important. In a horror film, we will likely utilize dark space and use light in a dreary kind of way. Proper use of lighting gives us the power of mystery and suspense. Another technique that could be utilized in our horror film is pov shots, meaning point of view. If the main character is sneaking through somewhere or revealing something mysterious, a pov shot will often be used to put the audience in the suspense.



One idea that my group has discussed for our film is to put the main character in a place of isolation, like a room that has no escape. Then introduce another character who enters the room and creates a horror-like atmosphere. We haven't punched out any details yet. We are having to ask ourselves, "What would be a creepy situation to find yourself in?" It's kind of cool to think about a story or scene and be able to actually portray it.

I have high ambitions for out project. I love scrounging things together and cultivating something out of nothing. In high school we would have dress up days and I would always invade Good Will for crazy costume stuff. I think the film will be similar. Creating a set, proper wardrobe and maybe some makeup will require a lot of raw creativity, which I think my group has. I hope to create something that we can be proud of and that I will want to show people I know and say "Yeah I helped make that."