This new film would be very reminiscent to our previous film, but different in several key ways. First of which is the absence of dialogue. Our previous idea involved the usage of dialogue, but to create a more artistic piece, we decided to not include any dialogue throughout the film. This wasn’t our only modification however. Since we only had ourselves as a cast, I became the only character in the entire film, similar to our second production “The Axeman”. This was a mandatory change that had to be made as our options for a cast were virtually none as the outbreak of COVID-19 isolated everyone into their own home. This very isolation was the key inspiration behind the premise of “Lonesome”. With this film, we wanted to focus on the issue of isolation a lot further and what would happen if suddenly, everyone you knew disappeared into thin air. I drew inspiration from the first episode of the original series “The Twilight Zone”, where a man is left isolated in an isolated town. Though this idea is still in the developmental stages, these key changes had to be made, which requires us to update all of our documentation, a process that will in itself take several hours to do. But as an initial step forward, we have decided upon the final name, and idea behind our final final project, “Lonesome”.
With the recent cancelation of school and the widespread outbreak of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, our film ran into some impassible road blocks. Our film severely relied upon the actors that were supposed to be involved with the film. However, with the outbreak, one of our major actors were incapable of leaving their homes to produce the film. Additionally, our film relied upon a public space that was now closed and could not be filmed on. So we had a conundrum to solve. We knew that our original film would not be feasible given the scenario, so we decided to create a new film. But we didn’t start from scratch. We knew we wanted to make a horror film, but we decided to make a film that held some form of reference to the current outbreak. So we decided to create another silent horror film that involved some form of disease or disappearance. We did not really delve deep into the creation process, but we knew that this would be the foundation of our restructured film. The rest of the reorganization was still be completed and is yet to be finalized in print.
While in class our film teacher told us that while in the beginning credits, a film production company had to be shown. Now, for me and my partner, this was seen as kind of trivial and unnecessary. However, as our teacher explained to us, the production studio and its name is extremely important for the success of a particular film. Our teacher had explained to us that depending on the production studio, different levels of credibility are given to each brand. With a good name, a production company is able to establish a brand reputation upon the mass public. For example, when you see the Disney Castle, you know that it’s going to be a child friendly film that caters to all demographics. The same can’t be said for DreamWorks that also targets children, but carries a different brand reputation that Disney. Fundamentally, our production studio’s name was key the development of our horror spectacular, such that we chose a name that already carried the style of film we wanted to create. So we called our production studio, Axeman Productions.
Heres a video link that I used as reference towards the creation of our production house name. It established why such a minimal thing is so important for a films success and reiterated what my teacher had explained to us.
As I have established in previous blogs, me and my partner completed the story board for our final project “The Hornet’s Nest”. Now my film teacher advised the group to create a screen play for the film. However, neither me nor my partner Michel knew how to make a screen play.
So I did as any person would when they don’t know something; I searched it up. After about a full class of research I was able to gather some information on how to write a screenplay. Some of the information that I learned about screenplays was pretty interesting and it will definitely be beneficiary for my final exam. The picture that I put above is an image that I saw online when researching about screenplays and it helped me write my screenplay for my film. After looking at different images I decided to as well look at a video which explained other things on how to write a screenplay and how long they typically are, etc. I’m putting the link to the video below because I think it has some valuable information that could prove useful to others.
My Screenplay, “Hornets Nest”
Hornets Nest Screenplay
Shot One
Time-0:00-0:10
Shot: Closeup to Mid
Sound:
Starts with a close up shot of (Rafael B) face, slowly zooms out of a very serious looking face to a mid shot,then shows him on a bridge looking at his reflection in the water below, then takes his wedding ring off and throws it in the water in anger…
Shot Two
Time-0:10-0:20
Shot: Mid to closeup
Sound:Background sound of hornets to intensify the scene
Shows (Rafael B) sitting on the floor and staring at a hornets nest that has been abandoned, it then slowly zooms from his face closer into the hornets nest and while this is being done there is an edited sound of hornets flying around
Shot Three
Time:0:20-0:35
Shot: Cloesup to Semi Closeup
Sound:There will be no sound to build suspense/tension
Starts with a closeup shot of a family walking in the park, then slowly zooms out to a semi closeup shot to reveal to the audience that (Rafael B) is looking at the family. While doing this he will have a cynical look on his face and he will be thinking evil thoughts.
Shot Four
Time:0:35-0:40
Shot:Closeup
Sound:Loud sound of hornets
Starts with a closeup shot (Rafaeal B) to show to the audience all the emotion in his face and to show how cynical he is
Shot Five
Time:0:40-50
Sound:Clip of hornets nest with them flying around
This will be a clip that will be edited into the film and it will be there to build suspense and tension in the audience
Shot Six
Time:0:50-1:10
Shot:Ultra Wide
Sound:voiceover of main actor
Scene will start as an ultra wide shot and it will show (Rafaeal B) walking up to (Andres M) and killing him
Shot Seven
Time:1:10-1:20
Shot:Mid shot
Sound:Loud footsteps and screaming
It will show (Justin E) running across a field trying to find his lover (Andres M)
Shot Seven
Time:1:25-1:30
Shot:Upper mid shot
Sound:No sound
It will be a shot which is above, will start as a closeup of Andres and it will slowly zoom out to show his whole body on the ground dead and covered in blood
Shot Eight
Time:1:30-1:35
Shot:Closeup
Sound:
It will start with a closeup shot from the ground and in it you will see (Justin E) facial expression as he sees the body of his dead lover
Shot Nine
Time:1:35-1:45
Shot:Mid shot
Sound:Silence transitions to hornets
Starts with a mid shot which will show (Justin E) and (Rafael B) sitting on the same floor from the first scene together and looking up at then transitions to a closeup shot of the abandoned hornets nest
The usage of sound in our film is rather complex. Being a horror film, our final project utilizes diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to invoke certain choreographed emotions onto our audience. The stark sounds of wasps are not only a repulsive and irritating noise, but could also convey fear, insanity and disruption. As a result, the sound of wasps are a reoccurring theme across the film.
Other important sounds include the usage of diegetic music that veils the film. The ominous music adds character to the film and helps deliver fear into our audience.
Lighting
The lighting in the film is also extremely fundamental to our horror film. There are moments where the lighting extremely understated, where the characters are going through a trauma or contemplating dark thought. In scenes with more lighting, the characters are much more lively or action is taking place. These are key within our film because they play a role in invoking emotions into the audience and promoting thorough emersion into our film.
Mise en Scène
The developed scenery of the film is key. Our location being the park was chosen purposefully as it contrasts the dark tone of our film. We wanted to promote fear and death in an environment where these factors are not significantly present in the real world. By doing this, we wanted to establish a form of realism and promote the message that safety is not always guaranteed, even in the most peaceful of places. This concept of contradictions are the basis of our film and is what our film is truly about. Contradictions in every aspect of reality. And this relation is interesting for our film to explore and for us to interpret in our production.
One of the steps which is necessary when in the process of creating a film is to create a document which has all the shots which are going to film be in the different scenes of your film. Even though my partner and I have not started our film yet, but we immediately knew what shots we wanted to have in those scenes. In total there is going to be ten shots in our film. I created an online document which I shared with my partner so he could see what the different shots were going to be in our film. In order to help me in writing my script I decided to watch some videos on Youtube, these actually helped lots with how the format should be. After this I went straight into writing the Screenplay and within a short matter of time, after that I basically have everything done and all that needs to be done is the actual footage of my film.
Shot list for “The Hornets’ Nest”
Closeup and Mid Shot
Mid Shot to Closeup
Cloesup zooms out to Mid Shot
Closeup Shot
Wide/Ultrawide Shot
Mid shot
Above transition from Extreme Closeup to Closeup
Closeup Shot from the ground zooms out to Semi Closeup
From the very beginning, my group established that our final production would be some form of horror film. Earlier in the blog I addressed the actions we were taking to pursue the conceptual stages of the final project. Finally, the fundementals of the project are complete with the most importiant part, the storyboard, being the first to be completed. Being the main actor of the film was something that I was prepared to do. My previous production involved me being the main and sole character in the film. Being the director while also being the main actor is a little bit of a burden, but is a duty that I have accomplished before. I believe I can appropriately deliver the performance that me and my group member envisioned.
Now besides determining the role of my partner another thing that we were able to do is what the film would be about. Me and my partner thought that the basic plot of the film would be a man who has lost his family and he slowly goes insane, while all of this is happening he constantly has the thoughts and sounds of hornets just flying around in his head. He is shown to be a very weird person while he is staring at a family that is walking in the park. Now slowly throughout the film he becomes even more insane and at one point commits a murder. Now after this is done the persons lover will go searching after him and once he has found the dead body of his lover, the murderer which will be my partner is able to brainwash him and transform him into a cold killer who is obsessed with hornets as well.
After creating the screen play to our film, our film teacher advised us to develop the script to our film “The Hornet’s Nest”. So I worked closely with our script writer to help create our script for the film. Though I played a minimal role in the creation process, as Director of the film I gave my input towards what I thought had to be implemented into the script. One of the major challenges we faced during the development of the script was formatting. Similar to the screenplay, neither me nor my partner knew how to format a script. So as good citizens of the internet, we went onto the internet to find our answers.
These are some examples of refrence material that we utilized on the internet to help us develop the script for our final project. They gave us valuable information regarding certain writing styles and techniques that would benefit the immersion of our film.
“Hornets Nest” Script
“Hornets Nest” Script
Cast: Justin Eastwood, Andres Martinez, and Rafael Benavente
First Shot
Rafael: (Looking down at the river) I can’t believe my wife left me, (takes off ring and throws in the river)
Second Shot
Rafael: Quietly sitting on the floor, then looks up and starts to stare at an abandoned hornets nest which is above his head
Third Shot
Rafael: Sitting on a bench, sees a family and starts to envy them due to the fact that he has recently been left by his wife, then mutters to himself “I wish I had a family like that, I’m gonna have to get one somehow”, then gets evil smirk on his face
Fourth Shot
Rafael: Face shown with no emotion, meant to cause tension
Fifth Shot
A shot of the hornets nest with wasps flying around is flashed on the screen. Loud noises of wasps are all that could be heard. Seconds later the title “The Hornets Nest” fades in and out.
Sixth Shot
A monologue is read by our protagonist which goes as follows: “I always had a fascination with hornets. They’re merciless. They’re meticulous. Masters of their craft. A coalition of murder machines.
Rafael: Runs up to Andres and grabs him by the face.
Andres: (Getting Stabbed)
Seventh Shot
Justin: ANDRES, ANDRES, WHERE ARE YOU HONEY!
Eighth Shot
Andres: Coughing up blood, why’d you do this to me, what have I ever done to you, coughs up a little more blood and dies
Ninth Shot
Justin: Walks up to Andres, falls on his knees and starts sobbing uncontrollably.
Rafael: Walks up to Justin moments later and looks at him.
Feminism has had a great influence on Western society for the past 40 years and the idea that women are strong and independent beings that can live very comfortably by themselves has been a main focus of the movement. However, in media studies, women are typically defined as adopting some characteristics in film and in life. In media studies, representations of women include their beauty, size/physique, sexuality, emotional dealings and relationships. These are typically the characteristics taken on by women in movies by their producers to adhere with what the society portrays women.
The dilemma of whether to star a male or a female in a film or media text has been prominent ever since the film industry had started and the choice of a male or female actor can greatly affect the outcome and plot of the film. This choice also influences the representation of the film and other key components that affect the overall influence and meaning of the film. The topic has been in debate for quite some time and in recent times, the choice of putting female actors in films have skyrocketed and the representation of women in the film industry has increased. Some notable examples are Orange Is The New Black and Sex in the City. Both of these films greatly bolster the meaning of being powerful women living in their own world and breaking the stereotype that women need men in order to survive and be strong.
The representation of both genders in film are often questioned as men and women who don’t have the typical characteristics of usual women and men in film roles are often left out of being in the movie. Since they don’t adopt the typical stereotypes, they are often left out of being given a role due to the producer’s fear that it may face negative feedback from a target audience and viewers of the film in general.
The role of men and masculinity has clearly been dominant in the film industry since it started and there is no debate to that. The stereotypes that the men have to adopt in the films are also more rigid and more demanding to appeal to a specific target audience for a film. These include strength, power, physique, sexual attractiveness and the ability to be independent in choices and life. This also comes back to the question of representation with women as both genders have to fit in to certain stereotypes in order to carry out or even be offered a role for the film.
Were horror movies better before or after the 2000’s? why?
Added info
Recently my group and I decided to make a survey on peoples opinions on the horror genre. Some things that we asked were what peoples favorite genre were, their favorite films, directors, actors and many other things. I’ll upload the document that we used and one of the replies of a random person which my group and I surveyed. Some of the responses that we got were very interesting, some people didn’t like the horror genre and were interested in comedy, sci-fi, and other genres. An example of someones favorite director was Steven Kubrick. After finding out this information I decided to in some way mold our final project to be similar to some of the responses that we received.
My partner and I decided to do this because we were interested to find out what peoples opinions were on the Genre of horror and we were thinking that it would be useful to use peoples opinions to somewhat mold our film to be the perfect horror film.
Rafael Benavente's Blog 