Group Meeting Reflection #1

The group meeting of my Cambridge portfolio project in class today was where we were expected to create a two-minute film opening. The teammates that I had were Kai, Sofia, Nicole, Macie, Gaby, and Eva. The entire time was spent discussing our ideas, listening to one another, and offering constructive criticism to each another to enable us all to improve our projects before we would actually shoot. The majority of us chose drama or thriller, so it was not that difficult to talk because all the vibes and themes were similar.   

My concept is a thriller involving two friends who are relaxing in their home when an emergency broadcast comes up and informs everybody to remain inside. It becomes mad tense as soon as a person starts breaking into the house, and the tension continues to creep up until the characters realize that they are not safe anymore. When I pitched it, the crew presented me with excellent suggestions on how to enhance the tension by adding more sound, timing, and camera shots in order to make the audience feel the character of the danger increasing.   

All my group members had their ideas of film opening, and it was interesting to see the way each of them approached drama or thriller in a different way. Others of us were emotional and some about suspense and mystery. Since we all belonged to somewhat the same genres, drama or thrillers, we could exchange tips on lighting, music, and the introduction of characters to find out what works best.   

One of them informed me that I should mix and match what I like in various films of drama or thrillers. They did not want me to copy any one particular movie but instead encouraged me to steal parts of a few movies in order to create a new one. That struck me that I can blend various storytelling vibes, camera shots and pacing fragments to create my opening to shine.   

On the whole, the meeting was highly productive since we were all supportive and provided actual and helpful feedback. Discussing thoughts with Kai, Sofia, Nicole, Macie, Gaby, and Eva allowed me to refine my plan of a thriller and to consider more the tension development in the first two minutes. I am much more confident in my ability to make my film opening and use the advice that the team gave me in order to raise the final project.