BLOG QUESTION BEG/ADV: LUCASFILM FIELDTRIP

After screening the show and hearing the talented artists at Lucasfilm, what insight or piece of advice from their experience in filmmaking and visual storytelling stood out to you the most?

I found it refreshing to hear from professionals who are still very passionate about their jobs. Despite it being an unpredictable time in the industry, they all had their own ways of staying in touch with their motivations and they still have the drive to continue putting 100% effort into their work. It was nice to hear from a professional that prioritizing your mental and physical health is the most important part of developing as an artist, and that maximizing the amount of projects you work on isn't going to get you there if you're not mentally prepared for it. I also found it motivating to hear that "rejection is redirection", I think it's a very helpful piece of advice because a lot of artists get discouraged when they dont land a role/position they've been looking forward to, but trying again and exploring different pathways can help you cope with rejection.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: PAPER AMPS

What is the concept of paper amps? Why is it so important to keep in mind when you are lighting on set?
You are lighting a scene and using the following lights:

1000w tungsten fresnel
750w open faced tungsten light
650w tungsten fresnel
2 - 300w tungsten fresnel's

How many amps would this setup draw? If you had to use this inside a house, how would you go about safely setting this up?

To calculate paper amos, you have to use this formula: paper amps= total watts/100. A breaker box tells you how many amps you have at your disposal in each room of a. building. You want your wattage to be below the amount of amps allowed per room. Its important to know how many amps you are able to use because depending on the wattage of your lights, you could possibly pop the breaker/fuse. The equation doesn't give you the exact number of amps you're going to use, but a safety zone.

100 + 750 + 650 + (2)300= 2100/100= 21 amps. If I had to set this up, I would make sure that the rooms are able to handle this amount of wattage, or figure out where i could run a stinger from to support this.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: SUSPENSE LIGHTING TUTORIAL

What three key techniques do these filmmakers use to create tension with their lighting in this scene? How did they use lighting effectively?

One technique that the filmmakers use is motivated lighting. In this scene, the lighting is motivated by the pool (bounces light from below). However, not all lights have to be motivated in a horror movie. Lighting imperfections are more obvious on close-ups, having materials to help diffuse lighting will help. Adding foreground elements creates an effect of someone being watched, building suspense. Secondly, Black wrap can be used to shape light, having characters silhoutted leaves more to the imagine, giving a more ominous effect. Using fog can add to the atmosphere of your film, adding mystery.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: HORROR LIGHTING TUTORIAL

What are three key techniques that these filmmakers use to create tension with their lighting in this scene? How did they use lighting effectively?

Projector attachments help replicate the looks of windows, making light seem motivated in a shot. Illuminating the face of your subject allows for your audience to associate themselves with the character, feeling their emotions. Color can allow you to evoke emotion in the scene, so don't be afraid to use unnatural colors such as red or green. Having underexposure is okay as it creates contrast, especially in night time scenes. Its important to have a good balance as underexposure creates mystery and tension, but we also want to light enough to convey important information (where a subject is in the scene). Rim lighting to highlight the monster. Monsters should be lit differently from your subject (sidelit, backlit, less well seen), as their reveal should be big.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: HORROR LIGHTING

What are the historical, aesthetic, and psychological reasons for lighting from below in horror films?

Lighting from below distorts the look of the human face, creating harsh shadows across their facial features. This effect alarms us instinctively, since this does not occur in the natural world and gives us an uncanny feeling. Since our brains are wired to recognize faces, when we see one that seems unnatural, it provokes an uncomfortable and eerie feeling. Symbolically, light from below evokes the idea of light coming from the depths of hell.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: HORROR FILM TECHNIQUES

1. What are the key tips that you learned from this video?

2. What tip do you feel you could put to use in your horror film coming up?

When coming up with a horror story, it's okay to take inspiration from old works, especially literature. A lot of horror films are just adaptations of existing classics, and you can make something great by adding your own twist to it. Consider the Location, time of day and weather your film takes place in. The atmosphere greatly affects the feel of the movie. Sound design also contributes a lot to the feel, and can increase the production value of your film. Lighting can be used very effectively to convey certain feelings. Having your image underexposed can leave your subject in a shadow, building suspense and mystery. Color grading and using gels can also help a lot with building the atmosphere. Utilize angles to create tension and uneasiness. Higher angles make your subject look meak, dutch angles create a feeling of uneasiness. lastly, utilize props you have available to you to help drive the story. For our anthology, we will definiteley be relying on lighting, camera angles, and location to create a sense of dread for our viewers.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: WAYS HORROR FILMS ARE MANIPULATING YOU

In a detailed paragraph, explain how you are using or could use 4 of these steps to help develop your horror film story before you begin shooting.

Some techniques that we plan to include in our Anthology film are negative space, anticipation, under exposure, long scenes, and sound design. A lot of our settings are either vast and very liminal, or very claustrophobic. We want to invoke the feeling of anxiety since the characters are being thrown into unknown/unnatural spaces. Since we never show the monster, its presence is only known through the sounds it makes. I think it'd be a cool detail to add infrasounds as well to subconsciously create a feeling of dread for the viewers. 

BLOG QUESTION ADV: HISTORY OF HORROR FILMS P. 2

1. Why do you think that horror films happen in cycles? In your opinion, what is it about horror films that makes this happen?

I think horror films happen in cycles because they reflect the current demographic of horror movie watchers. Horror movies reflect our cultural fears, allowing us to face them directly. The video explains how horror films are constantly being adapted to fit into the climate of society. For example, Post WW1 resulted in a lot of expressionism films being created to reflect the post-war anxieties and fears that were left in Europe. I think horror films act as a medium for people to express their emotions and externalize them.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: THE HISTORY OF HORROR FILMS P. 1

1. How have horror films changed through the decades?
2. How did psychological horror develop in film?
3. What was the universal influence on the development of horror films?

George Meliese was a pioneer in the horror movie genre, although his films were more comedic. His use of trick photography would be used in generations onwards in more serious ways. In the U.S.,  popular novels were being adapted into films, while in Europe, the rise of German expressionism began post-ww1. The utilized set design and cinematography to express internalized fears of their times. This then began the psychological horror genre. Movies like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu were instrumental films in the genre. Then from the 1920s-0s, Universal horror became the new norm back in the U.S. This era would become the foundation of most modern, big budget horror movies. However, smaller budget horror films still found success. Instead of focusing on set design and costumes, these fils would focus on building suspense and setting the tone of their movies with limited resources.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCARY MOVIES P. 2

1. What makes horror films so attractive to audiences?

2. What are some of the theories around the popularity of horror films?
3. How do horror films relate to nightmares?

The negativity of horror movies intensify the positive feelings when the hero triumphs at the end of the movie. There are different theories, such as the "Disposition Alignment Theory" that state people find it satisfying when people who deserve to get killed get killed in horror films, or the "Sensation Seeking Theory", that states people crave the adrenaline from watching these movies. Overall, Horror films trigger our curiosity. They're a reflection of our societal fears, allowing us to relate to their themes. There are 4 different ways people feel about/watch horror movies: Gore watching, Thrill watching, Independent watching, and problem watching. Like dreams/nightmares, movies allow us to work through our personal problems and traumas.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCARY MOVIES P. 1

1. What are horror films?

2. How do Tension, Relevance, and Unrealism play into the popularity of horror films?

Horror films are films that utilize tension, relevance, and unrealism to activate the instinctual fear of the viewers. Tension is used to keep people on their toes, building up the story for a larger payoff/scare. Relevance includes universal, cultural, subgroup, and personal relevance: Basically, who is the film targeting? Unrealism is fabricated reality, which allows us to separate fiction from reality to keep us watching horror films. If we perceive something as too realistic, we often try to avoid it. Knowing that films are staged, it reassures us.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: SPIELBERG ON HORROR

How does Spielberg craft such effective horror scenes in his blockbuster films? What are three techniques that you've learned in this unit that Spielberg uses? How does he use them?

Spielberg crafts effective horror scenes by allowing suspense to build up, resulting in a larger payoff and greater scare when the horror is revealed. Three techniques that I learned from Spielberg include: subjective shooting (focus on the characters emotions/reactions), how to use the environment to establish power dynamics and introduce higher stakes (e.g. water rippling to establish the size of the monster), and his use of jump scares. Having a jump scare alone isn't as effective as it can be when paired with the previous two elements, which add much more emotional stakes.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: WHAT MAKES A MOVIE SCARY?

1. Explain the importance of buildup and payoff in a horror film.

2. What aspects of the example made it scarier?

It's important to have buildup in a horror film because it's what builds the suspense. Every second should be contributing to the payoff. This is especially effective when the film follows a pattern but abruptly changes for the payoff. The short film was scarier because it built up the pattern for longer, making the payoff at the end more unexpected and scary. The example also showed the point of view of the creature, which shows how powerless the character is, adding more uneasiness to the scene. The location also has a great effect on the scariness. Having the location be at a place that is perceived as "safe" or "familiar" has a better effect than an unfamiliar location.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: DUVETYNE CLOTH

What is duvetyne cloth used for? What is so special about it? Explain three different uses for it on set and what you should bring in addition to use it.

Duvetyne cloth can be used for many situations. It can be used as wall protection, to black out windows, and even in lighting. It is often used to skirt lights to prevent spill. It's thick coat allows it to completely black out light, unlike most fabrics. It is also fire retardent, making it safe in harsh conditions. Water and snow wears down the fire retardent spray on it, so try to keep it out of the rain. It can be used with c-stands and clamps to be attached in various ways.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: SOLIDS

What does a toper and a bottomer do? What are cutters used for? Whats a lenser? What is a courtesy?

Blocking the top of a light (topper) will keep the light on your subject but eliminate the light spilling onto the background. Blocking the bottom (bottomer) will remove light casting onto your subject and light their background, creating a harsh shadow on their face and giving the space above them light. A cutter is useful for blocking out light in a shot that requires a longer cut. It also helps with light spill. When someone asks for a lenser, they're asking you to shade the lens from the light hitting it. It can be done with any flag or cutter. A courtesy is when you flag a monitor to block reflection from hitting the screen. This is best done with a top hinge floppy.

BLOG QUESTION ADV: RYLEE, GUEST SPEAKER REFLECTION

Refer to our guest speaker post about Rylee yesterday. Reflect on what you learned in her workshop. What did you enjoy about it? What did you find interesting? What do you want to learn more about? How can you implement this knowledge into your productions going forward?

I thought it was really neat meeting another women in the film industry who has a very hands-on and physically demanding job on set. I learned how to use a analog mixer, which was different than the digital ones we have in our class. She also had a slate with timecode on it, and she showed us how to sync it up with the mixer and how it would work along with a camera. I've always been curious about how those work, so it was nice to see it sync up in action. I want to learn more about the differences in analog and digital sound recording, and why one would choose on or the other. Now that I know how timecodes can be used in post-production to help sync up sound, I'd like to edit footage in the future that uses this instead of relying on the clap of the slate.