Unhinged

CANDIDATE NAME-            Shahi Rajan Ishika

CANDIDATE NUMBER-       0796

CENTER NUMBER-            IN075

SYLLABUS NUMBER-        9607

COMPONENT NUMBER-    01

COMPONENT NAME-         MEDIA STUDIES FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO

EXAM SERIES-                   JUNE YEAR-2020
                                              
TITLE-                                 FILM OPENING TASK

The following are all the tasks done by me in the making of this film-
 -Casting
-Art direction
-Location
-Editing
-Production Design
-Direction of Photography
-Writing
-Directing
-Costume

Critical reflection 4

How did you integrate technologies in this project?
 I have used an slideshow to answer the questions of critical reflection 4.
https://slides.com/ishikashahi/deck

critical reflection 3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
I answered these questions in the form of a podcast-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PkONIm9wRIo1LMpG0YSmoCgdF4rIUfof/view?usp=sharing

critical reflection 2

How does your opening sequence engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
I used prezi to answer these questions-
https://prezi.com/view/OPXGeVNelyxo1FLNnxED/

critical reflection 1

How does your product( opening sequence) use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?
As my film is about stalking which is a pretty common issue in India as many girls have faced stalking by either boys in their own college or random strangers. This is not only because of the lack of awareness about this topic but also how Bollywood movies have somewhere made it seem that girls enjoy being chased.
I have used an audio visual of myself to answer the questions.
https://youtu.be/r_Ria-BkzFw

Reactions and feedback

I showed my completed opening sequence to my friends in school and recorded their reactions to it. They all gave their feedback and opinions about my opening sequence.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CiMNnXVa8Ef9SB5fD-mWEumEwNH9SYZv

Opening sequence completed

google drive link- https://drive.google.com/file/d/10xSvb3LOUnPc0xvlWs3kRPhNUsx7Pt86/view?usp=sharing
Youtube link- https://youtu.be/TvVEOcnALiA

I AM SO HAPPY AND PROUD TO FINALLY SHOW MY OPENING SEQUENCE. HOPE YOU ENJOY IT.

editing process pt 3

MUSIC
For the production company and Ishika shahi presents, I'm using the song final hour from youtube. I picked up the sounds of key dangling, door closing, doorbell, keeping the bag down, iPhone message notification  and throwing down the boxes on the floor were all taken from the net. When she opens the message of her picture, I put the sound 'bang' from the net to add a suspenseful sound.  I used 'bang' at least 3 times throughout to enhance the dramatic effect. I put the audio when she starts removing her heels as earlier I wanted ambient music. 

After clicking on 'file' I exported it by using quick time movie to convert it into mov.

Editing process pt.2

I picked up the Netflix logo from youtube which I downloaded and converted it through the mpeg stream clip. I converted it to the Resolution 1920x1080 in order to match my opening sequence quality.All the videos were imported to final cut pro from which all the correct videos were selected. The part that I needed was cut short by pressing the key 'I' for in and 'O' for out. Then 'F9' to insert the clip into the timeline. I put them all in the sequence. The clips that needed build up for suspense were put in high speed( slow motion). Pressing the command j helps alter the speed. Jumpcuts were used to remove any slow paces in the clips. In the end the screen turns black to reveal the name of the film. The phone screen scene was put in the freeze frame and zoom to make it clearer for the audience. 

Editing process pt.1

My editing has to start with the production company logo and video. I chose the name 'sinister cuts' to give a hint about the thriller genre.  
The after effects CC app is what I used for all the texts in my opening sequence. 'courier new' is the font for all my texts. I used a black screen and used the animater offset option for the transition. The blood appears in all the 's' of the text. I duplicated the text layer and coloured the all 's' red. The Start of the opacity was on and then off so the text would appear and disappear again. 
I used Final cut pro- blue ink 4k green screen effect and then changed the colour of the ink to red using the colour corrector. The background was default black. 
The same effect was continued in 'Ishika Shahi presents'. My name is put in bold just like sinister cuts. 'Presents' is written in the PT mono font. 
All the names in the credits is in bold courier new and starring is written in PT mono font.

technical details

Camera - Canon 5D mark 4 DSLR.  I didn't use a tripod because I wanted it to look natural and get a hang of using the camera properly with my own hands and not a stand.
The lighting was crucial here so I used Professional LED Photo Studio Shooting Light Camera Equipment, Video Light which had the option to adjust the lighting according to my shots. 
All my equipments came from my dad's set so I didn't have to purchase it and were available on my shooting dates.

Behind the scenes

behind the scenes- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jBzzybj-KgOZqi_OTZbfnZMGXlGL41ke/view?usp=sharing

last day of shoot

This had to be the least stressful day of shoot. We all reached at around 5:45, even though we started a bit late we knew we could cover up as now we all were familiar with what was needed.We shot the close ups and reactions. we took it a bit too lightly and our 1 hour shoot stretched to 2 hours because of how much we were enjoying.

call sheet day 3

How my opening sequence is different from my script

I tried to make everything as similar to the script as I possibly could. The top shots where Shreya opens the chits were difficult as it was not only an uncomfortable position for my hold the cameras from but the slightest wrong nod by Kuhu( my actress) would mean we have to reshoot. we had many retakes and tried to add a new shot where she throws the boxes on the floor but it did not look good so we had to change it. I ended up following the script scene by scene to avoid last minute problems.

second day of shoot

This time we made sure there were no delays and that we would start on time. I started with giving Kuhu a pep talk and an idea of what Shreya will be currently feeling. This helped her get the emotions right and allowed me to capture it. There were many times when I had to stop her and explain the emotions I need. She portrayed it well. I wanted to get a crying and shivering emotion for scene 7 but Kuhu was unable to do it so we changed it to a still, frozen and paralysed situation. we spent most of our time figuring out the lighting for the scenes.

call sheet day 2

call sheet day 1

call sheet day 1

First day of shoot

Today is the first day of shoot and I'm super excited about it. I called for the camera and lighting equipment half an hour before the shooting time. We were supposed to start at 7:30pm as we need to show it is nigh time. Due to the actor's personal issues, the shooting started an hour late. Today we just need to shoot the extreme close ups and close ups so it didn't take much time but something as silly as turning the key and keeping the bag on the stand took a lot of retakes. Not a lot of acting was required as it was mainly the objects and highlight of details in the film.

Rehearsal. new changes

I Definitely wanted to have one full fletched rehearsal of the opening sequence for my actor as this is the first time she is acting and I want her to know exactly what to do when we shoot it properly.

I told her to carry the props such as heels and a sling bag so she could act as if it was the real shoot. I did all the scenes with her and explained her the positions. She did all the scenes as though we were shooting for the main thing. Now I have an idea about how my opening sequence looks like.
 I also wanted to check the lighting variations to see how and what could I do to set the right tone.

This helped me as now I know exactly which angles to shoot from, what kind of lighting to use and how much time it could take to shoot this.
I forgot to shoot a scene where the girl gets a message on her phone of her back which now I will make sure we don't miss as the timing completely changed due to the mistake. 
I will need to sit down with my actress and figure a proper schedule because when she came for rehearsal, she could only stay till 2 hours. This forced me to shoot in a hurry and scenes ended up being rushed even though it was just a rehearsal.
 I have asked her to give me next weekend to go over the scenes once again so on the day of the shoot, she and I both know exactly what to do. 
The outfit, accessories and makeup is decided now which luckily she wore on the day of the rehearsal as it didn't look as good as I wanted it to that day. The changes are now made. I am ready to shoot the final opening sequence.

This helped me get a practice of how to and which angles to keep my camera at. I have realised that I need more small scenes and need to avoid taking a long shots.
rehearsal video-  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3eA0Ofcv-AbUdb1pH5teHetVdPK5F7r/view?usp=sharing

Set design

the room is shown clearly in the last scene where the stalker is standing behind Shreya so I had to make sure it looked big and spacey. This is where she will be sitting.

I did not have to make any big changes except get it cleaned because it will not be that visible.

The door and the stand are shown more in the film than any other location.

When she gets out of the house to check who rang the bell, this will be the setting.

The closet- Im using a smaller closet which is next to her main closet to show that she chose a more lowkey hiding place for her boxes. I will put in blankets and some shirts to show that the closet is not being used that much.

Highlights of opening sequence

The most interesting scenes of my opening sequence -
when she reveals that she has more similar boxes hidden in her closet. This shows that she has been stocking up the 'gifts' from the stalker.
When she reveals there are messages hidden in the boxes which mix-and-match to a clue. This shows that the stalker liked playing games with her.
When she gets a text of her own back which indicates he is standing behind her in her room. The last shot which reveals he is behind her creates an intense atmosphere.