Pre-Production Jitters!

Good Afternoon fellow bloggers!

     I am feeling anxious as ever to start this project. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the beginning process thus far. It has been quite the roller-coaster from deciding what genre I wanted a few months ago to having my full piece planned out and ready to film now.

    I can’t lie I am ecstatic to see how this turns out, however, I am nervous if I will be able to pull off the vision in my head. To calm my nerves, I did what I do best… watch Netflix. In the start of my blog, posting’s I merely mentioned being inspired by a new Netflix series called “YOU.”  This show piqued my interest in stalking, and I knew watching it would help me make my film even better. This series sent shivers down my spine with the charismatic main character who formed an obsession with a young female girl. He began stalking her and following every aspect of her life. This show freaked me out so much, so I knew I had to take inspiration from it. The show used many intense camera angles as well as intense music to ensure that the drama of the scenes was captured. I plan to do this as well by incorporating some close-ups and royalty free intense music when needed.

      This series also helped me understand the inner mind of a stalker as he strikes for his victim. I was able to understand the motives which can make someone peruse another person so intently. Needless to say, after a few more episodes I was fully locked and loaded to begin the production process.

See you later... get it… SEE you later

Larissa Sallowicz

Production Planning

Hello!

   I feel like writing on here has become an everyday occurrence for me. Well, now that everything is planned out and ready to go its time for me to plan out my filming schedule. If you ask anyone who knows me, they will tell you I am one of the most organized and scheduled individuals they know… so this… this comes naturally to me. I want to have around 3-4 days reserved for recording purposes. I may think about recording on a cloudy day to add to the mystery and tension of the piece. I then want to reserve 2-3 days for editing in total. Lastly, I want to have a day to make sure the project is up to my standards and that every detail is perfect.

     My film schedule looks something like this:

March 4^th: Filming begins (I of outline)

March 8^th: Filming (II of outline)

March 12^th: Filming (III of outline)

March 18^th: Filming (IV of outline)

March 19^th: Editing begins

March 23^rd: Editing continues

March 26^th: Editing ends

March 31^st: Finishing touches added, and project is finalized

   Above is the tentative schedule for my filming process and the one I plan to follow. However, I hope to be ahead of schedule and start filming as soon as possible.

Talk to you soon,

Larissa Sallowicz

Story Boarding Time!

Hey there!

   So the next step from creating my general outline was to create my storyboard for my piece. I created a storyboard filled with stock images to give a visual to the words written in the outline and below the images. The physical camera angles will still be modified during the production later on. Below is my film opening’s storyboard:

Happy blogging!

Larissa Sallowicz

Outlines, outlines, and more outlines

Good Afternoon from the British Virgin Islands,

     I know... I know... I've been traveling for a while now but it has helped me be able to focus on not only relaxation but my opening scene for my portfolio piece as well. So my in my last post I expressed my desire to make my film about a stalker which stemmed from rejection, so it’s time for me to begin forming my story and piece.  Below, you can see the outline for my piece.

·      I (Setting: Coffee Shop)

o   Young lady is waiting for the coffee she ordered at a coffee shop

o   A man notices the young lady showing clear interest in her

o   The female walks outside with her beverage and the man follows

o   The female sits to enjoy her coffee and the male approaches her

o   The young lady respectfully responds and shows physically she does not desire to consider conversation

o   The man persists his efforts to get the females attention

o   The female politely declines

o   The male walks away to the table near by and just watches as she sips her beverage

o   The female finishes her beverage and walks to the trash can

o   The male takes notice of her soon departure from the coffee shop and becomes visually excited

·      II (Setting: Parking Lot)

o   The female begins to walk to her vehicle

o   The male follows along from a distance the female doesn’t notice

o   The male approaches the female once more asking for directions

o   The female answers reluctantly but still being nice to avoid upsetting the man

o   The man takes the response, thanks the woman, and “walks away”

o   The man gets into his vehicle

·      III (Setting: Vehicles)

o   The female begins to drive away a little frantically clearly frazzled from the man’s advances

o   The male waits for the female to leave and beings to follow her vehicle

o   The female drives home and the male follows her home

·      IV (Setting: Females Home)

o   The female goes into her house without locking the door behind her

o   The male follows her inside

SCREEN CUTS TO BLACK

    The basic outline for my piece is what is above. If need be I will add more or remove some scenes depending on the time constraints for the opening scene.

Talk to you guys soon,

Larissa Sallowicz

Actually getting started... I think...

Greetings from The Bahamas,

        Vacation sweet vacation. Nothing like rays of sunshine and the sea air to inspire my media portfolio even more. So last post I talked with you guys how I plan to do something about stalking. That is still my plan however, I just need to think about the important stuff now such as plot, characters, and really begin setting up the rest of my piece. To understand how to make a horror film pertaining to stalkers I first must understand what exactly it means to be one. According to Marshall University, the profile of a stalker consists of many different things such as their relationship to the victim and what their motivation may be to stalk the victim. Many stalkers stem from rejection by the victim or an unhealthy fantasy about the victim in an obsessive manner. 

          I wanted the stalker of my film to stem from a rejection. For me to be able to pull this off I knew the start of my film would have to start in a public place, maybe a coffee shop, where the victim will reject said stalker upon his advance towards her. This would be the start of my film opening which would then lead to the stalking patterns and threatening behavior to come. According to the MDEdge Psychiatry page, rejected stalkers are the most common and dangerous type of stalker who hold a complex and volatile mix of reconciliation and revenge. 

          Now that I knew what type of stalker I wanted for my film opening and what direction I wanted to take with it I began to feel far more comfortable. Thinking back a week ago I had no clue how I was going to be able to pull off a horror piece. But now, I have scenes popping into my head ready for me to transform into actual shots. 

Time to get to the film storyboarding, who's ready?

Talk to you guys in a little!

Larissa Sallowicz

Refrences:

Knoll, James, and Phillip J. Resnick. “Stalking Intervention: Know the 5 Stalker Types, Safety Strategies for Victims.” MDedge Psychiatry, 11 Dec. 2018, www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/62668/stalking-intervention-know-5-stalker-types-safety-strategies-victims. 

“Marshall University.” Womens Center, www.marshall.edu/wcenter/stalking/characteristic-of-a-stalker/. 

Getting Started!

Happy blogging, Larissa Sallowicz here again!
    WOW! It's definitely been a while since my fingers have tapped away on this keyboard to update you all on how my piece is going. I have officially decided I am going to be focusing on the horror genre. Now at first, I was a little worried on if I could pull off a horror piece, however, after researching more about the genre itself horror is definitely what I want to do.
     When I began researching the horror genre I learned much about not only its characteristics and elements but also its history. The genre of horror stems from the gothic era in the 17th and 18th centuries which occurred primarily in European countries. The first horror movie ever on record was released in 1896 and is called "Le Manoir du Diable" or also known as "The Devil's Castle." Movies such as these first released horror films revolutionized the film industry forever by creating the frightening, startling, and at times disgusting films we watch today.
      After looking into the history of the genre itself I immediately knew that I wanted to focus on more of a modern take of the horror genre rather than some of the older films. I began to look into the best new horror films released in the past 10 to 20 years for inspiration, but I struggled immensely. I didn't quite know exactly where I wanted to take my film or how to even begin. Then, after an internet deep dive and a night full of Netflix binge-watching, it finally hit me what I wanted my film to be about.
       After watching a few episodes of the new Netflix series "You" and thinking about what truly scares me, stalking came to mind. One of my biggest fears is being followed or watched, so I thought to myself why not make a horror film based off one of my biggest fears. I felt that the concept of a stalker fit the genre characteristics of the horror genre, especially with its spine chilling creepy occurrences. So once I knew the general concept of what I wanted to do... I began.
See you next post,
Larissa Sallowicz

References:

“13 Steps To Making A Horror Film.” Raindance, 21 Nov. 2018, www.raindance.org/13-steps-to-making-a-horror-film/. 

Most Influential, Significant and Important Films in American Cinema - The 1960s, www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html. 

Nour, Sarah. “The First 13 Horror Films in Recorded History.” ReelRundown, ReelRundown, 22 May 2018, reelrundown.com/film-industry/The-First-13-Horror-Films-in-Recorded-History.