Weekly Progress + Plan

Here is my weekly progress and plan for component 1.

Component 1 (Film Opening)
Week	Start Date		Task		Blogpost Title	Content	Deadline
W1	30 September	Pre Production	Research	1	Brief
				2	Team
				3	Weekly Progress
				4	Preliminary Research	Broad genre research	W3
W2	7 October		Research	5	Research: Industry	Who makes music videos?	W3
W3	14 October		Research	6	Research: Genre	Codes and Conventions of your genre	W4
W4	21 October		Plan	7	Statement of Intent	Your initial proposal	W5
W5	28 October		Plan	8	Storyboard	Shot by shot plan	W7
				9	Script / Screenplay		W7
							W7
W6	4 November		Plan	10	Screen Test	Actor auditions	W7
				11	Classwork	How to: Camera, MeS, Sound, Edit	W7
							W7
W7	11 November		Plan	12	Location scout & Risk Assessment		W7
				14	Filming Schedule	Film over the break?	W7
							W7

Week 1: 

This week marked our first week back after term break, and we dived straight into media theory, specifically focusing on industries. We began by discussing the three crucial stages of film production: production, distribution, and exhibition. I learned that each stage plays a vital role in how a movie is created and, ultimately, how it reaches its audience. The production stage involves the actual making of the film, including filming, sound recording, and editing. Distribution covers how the film is marketed, sold, and made available to the public through different channels, such as cinemas, streaming services, and DVDs. Exhibition is the final stage, where the audience watches the film, whether in theaters, on television, or online platforms.

Week 2: 

This week, we shifted focus to researching the genre of our project—thriller! As a group, we began analyzing movie trailers within the thriller genre to understand its conventions, themes, and typical structures. We discussed elements like pacing, sound, lighting, and narrative twists that make thrillers so engaging and suspenseful. Watching the trailers helped us see what works in the genre and gave us inspiration for our own project. It also made me realize how important it is to balance expectations—while we want to include key thriller conventions, we also need to consider ways to subvert them in order to make our movie opening stand out. My teacher encouraged us to watch some thriller movies on our own time to expand our understanding further.

Week 3:

In Week 3, we began digging deeper into our research by focusing specifically on movie openings within the thriller genre. My group initially analyzed a couple of movie trailers, but it turns out we needed to focus more on the openings themselves, so we adjusted our approach. Watching and analyzing the openings of famous thriller films gave us insight into how directors set the tone, build suspense, and introduce key plot elements early on. The openings were often full of tension, mystery, and visual cues that drew the audience in right away. As we went through these openings, we began discussing which elements we wanted to borrow for our own project. I found it useful to look at how these films used technical aspects like camera angles, lighting, and sound design to create a specific mood from the very beginning. It gave me a clearer idea of how I can approach the technical side of my own project. While researching, I realized that the opening of a thriller has to hook the audience immediately, so we need to make sure we don’t waste any time in building that initial tension. In the coming weeks, we plan to continue researching more openings and refine our ideas further.

Week 4:

This week, we started narrowing down our research and began focusing more on how to use technical elements to enhance our movie opening. We discussed how factors like camera movement, sound design, and lighting could create a sense of suspense or danger, which is crucial in the thriller genre. We also started brainstorming ideas for our movie opening, jotting down our thoughts in a statement of intent. Writing this statement helped clarify the direction we want to take, but I still feel unsure about my ideas. They feel a bit basic right now, and I’m worried they won’t stand out enough. However, I’m hopeful that as we keep working on it and refining our ideas, we’ll be able to elevate them into something more unique.

 
Week 5:

Week 5 was all about diving into the practical side of filmmaking. We watched an educational video on how to create an effective storyboard, focusing on how to make it clear, informative, and easy to follow. Last term, I struggled with creating a storyboard, so I’m hoping that the tips from the video will make it easier this time. I want to keep the storyboard simple but detailed enough that it’ll be easy to interpret by anyone who reads it. My group also started working on our initial storyboard, focusing on the first four shots of our movie opening. While the storyboard is still in its early stages, I can already see how it will help bring our ideas to life. It’s much easier to visualize the opening once it’s broken down into individual shots. I’m in charge of creating the storyboard, so I plan to bring it home and finish it over the weekend. I’ll then be able to focus on other tasks, like writing reflections and blog posts, which will help me stay organized as we move forward. Even though I’m feeling a little unsure about the direction of our movie opening, I’m confident that once we have the storyboard complete, we’ll be able to see the bigger picture more clearly.

Week 6:

We spent this whole week working our movie project by chipping away at the bothersome tasks at the beginning such as the  research, classwork, filming schedule. I forgot how tiring these tasks are, but thankfully my group is dividing the work so it won’t be too burdensome on us. I’m in charge of creating the storyboard, so I’ll bring that home for the weekend and finish it by Sunday so I can start working on other tasks such as reflections and blogs. Starting this work can help get it out of the way, so we can focus on filming, brainstorming, and creating our opening in the next weeks, and hopefully create a good product. I’m a bit worried about recruiting actors, as I have a gut feeling not a lot of people are willing to act in our movie. In class, we also made a screen test in class where everybody had to deliver some cliche lines, and the performance of everyone was a little underwhelming. So I fear, we might have to look for actors elsewhere. If it comes down to it, I’ll have to be the actor, though I am not confident in my acting abilities. Lets hope for the best. 

Here is a checklist I used to keep track of my blogs!

Personal Reflection:

Keeping a weekly progress log has been really useful for staying organized and tracking our progress. It helps me see what we've accomplished each week and keeps me focused on the next steps. Writing it down also makes it easier to reflect on challenges and stay motivated throughout the project, although I keep forgetting to do it. It’s a bit bothersome, but overall beneficial.

Week 1:

I was absent for the entire week and missed a whole filming project. whoops. However I reviewed my team’s work and they gave me insights on their experience doing this shooting practice mini project which we can apply to future filming.