Production: Group Meeting #2

 We had an amazing group meeting with my classmates today to discuss our current project in Cambridge portfolios and demonstrate the digital work of each other. We have searched the blogs of Julia, Meliyah, Taryn, Ella, and Andres. It was a nice opportunity to look how our various genres, my house bound thriller, and the coming-of-age narrative by Emmanuel used mise-en-scene and camera effects to build a vibe of its own. 

I began by taking the team through my development of Stay Inside. I described this lax relationship I am establishing with Jay and Marcus and flaunted the Pandora Productions logo that I created on Canva. The group was fond of the visual storytelling of the logo, particularly the blue centre as it stands out of the dark blue black and grey of the box. My new filming difficulties, such as extreme long take to reveal the desolate surroundings of the house and POV to create immediate suspense when an unknown figure is in the process of creeping upon the front door, were shared with me as well. 

Then we resorted to the work of the rest of the group. Julia had a discussion about her thriller, The Last Call in which she uses isolation and phone calls that sound creepy to generate dread. That was followed by the project Dont Look Back by Meliyah, which is an urban thriller based on the need to move rather quickly and the sensation of not knowing how a person is following you through the city. Andres posted his crime thriller, which is special due to his daring use of red stains to indicate danger, and his blog displayed with bountiful technical composure with regard to the lighting stability. It was also a good surprise to find their on-the-run vitality compared to my characters, who are resting on a couch with spilled boxes of pizza and candy. 

The projects presented by both Taryn and Ella venture into the psychological realm. In her film The Guest, Taryn focuses on a social get-togethermevent going wrong when an unwelcome guest comes to the party whereas in her movie Mirror Image, Ella applies the symbol of reflections and doppelgängers to make the atmosphere of her film creepy and strange. We did have a fair share of time as well on the coming-of-age project of Emmanuel. In the case of a rejected kid who goes out at night, he elaborated on his scheme with his family. To express his desire to fade away into the darkness, he wears an entirely black costume to be the lead in an event that makes him a part of a crowd of friends who are not on his side. A fresh take on sneaking-out trope as a character development rather than simply horror, it was a cool look though.

Feedback that I received in the group was highly motivational and provided me with clear guidelines on the further actions. I was in everyone’s opinion nailing down the Beavis and Butt-head inspired slacker vibe.Julia claimed that it makes it seem much more intrusive comes the relatable, disheveled environment, and Ella personally loved the aspect in my logo of the blue glow implying threat, either in some supernatural or technological way. The team consensus was that the POV intruder shot was a solid decision as it provides a predatory frontland to the blameless domestic environment. 

But they also provided me with some good tips of the areas where I can refine my production. Andres advised me to be watchful of changes of lighting, and said that when I employed the lighting circle stick to imitate the TV, I need to make sure that the flicker would not appear too artificial against my black and gray costumes. Meliyah mentioned that my long takes are effective, but I can also include more shots of props, such as the open box of pizza or the remote, which keeps the viewers within the mess. Another useful suggestion that Emmanuel made to me, was the ending of my opening, to make the door rattling sound as subtle as possible, before it exploded, so that we could have more time to experience the panic increase.